Re: Oswego State 2009-10 Regular Season Thread
This is something I posted in the Potsdam thread, but in order to make sure the Bears' thread didn't get hijacked, I have posted it here as well so people can respond and it will be relevant:
I will never forget that classic SUNYAC playoff series at Maxcy about 10 years ago. Potsdam and Oswego played well into the wee hours of the morning when the SUNYAC playoffs had the mini-game as the tie breaker. I think there is some rivalry there with Oswego but not as much IMHO as Plattsburgh vs Potsdam.
Maybe from a Potsdam perspective, but I'd have to say that's not the case in the view of the Lakers and their fans. During my four years at Oswego the Bears only got the better of Oswego once - the regular season finale last year. While that loss left a bitter taste in many of the fans' mouths as it was senior night for the core of our Championship team, I know that few of the players really cared much at all about that game. It was more about enjoying Senior Night than getting a win. Plus the team knew they needed to win the SUNYAC to get to the NCAAs at that point.
Most of Oswego's wins over the last four or five years have been blowouts too. IMHO, I would say that of all the SUNYAC teams, there is the least amount of rivalry with Potsdam. There just seems to be more recent history between every other team and therefore more cause for a rivalry right now.
Here's how I rank the biggest SUNYAC rivals:
1.
Plattsburgh - Duh.
2.
Geneseo - There have been quite a few knock down drag out fights between these two in recent memory, despite Geneseo's recent slip from the top of the SUNYAC standings 2 of the last 3 years (current season included so that could change)
3.
Fredonia - 2007 SUNYAC semi-finals is all that needs to be said, but they never go down quietly either.
4.
Buff State It was tough for me to put Buff. State this high as they've never beaten the Lakers, but a lot of it has to do with Coach Carriere. And the fact that 4 of the last 5 between these two have gone to OT... Wait... In all seriousness, the Lakers haven't beaten the Bengals by more than 3 goals since Fall of '05.
5.
Brockport - The only reason I put Brockport this low is because for every game they played the Lakers close the last 4.5 years, they got crushed in the other. It's hard for me to put them below Buff. St, but it would be a lot easier if it weren't for that little scuffle after the game ended in Fall of '07.
6.
Morrisville - This one may come out of left field, but last year's tie against the Mustangs still has to have the Lakers not taking this team too lightly. They also only beat them 3-1 the second semester. Combine that with their improvement this year and the Lakers can't treat them like a junior college team anymore.
7.
Cortland - Honestly, the only reason why they aren't last is because of the 06-07 season. The Red Dragons (miraculously) tied the Lakers to give them their first non-win of the season and several fights were started by Cortland goalie Ben Binga in the rubber match. Perhaps the whole travel partner thing gives this matchup enough 'fluff' to keep them out of the cellar.
8.
Potsdam - Yes they seem to be a team on the upswing, however, other than Potsdam's win in the regular season finale last year, only 2 games over the last 4.5 seasons have been decided by fewer than 4 goals.
So that's my take as a Laker fan who started following the team in the 05-06 season.
I don't want this to result in a thread hijacking, so I'm going to post this in the Oswego thread too. Any responses can be made there so we give the Bears their due.
What do other Laker fans think?
