Men's hockey: Oswego defeats Cortland, 5-1

Sean Perichak scored his second goal of the season during a third-period power play (Darl Zehr Photography)

OSWEGO, N.Y. – Nationally fifth-ranked Oswego scored twice in the game's first two minutes and the Lakers went on to defeat visiting Cortland, 5-1, in a SUNYAC men's ice hockey game.

Oswego, which is ranked fifth by both D3hockey.com and USCHO.com, improved to 13-3-1 overall and leads the SUNYAC with a 7-0-1 mark. Cortland had a two-game winning streak snapped and is now 7-10 overall and 3-7 in the conference.

Mitch Herlihey scored twice and assisted on a goal to lead the hosts. He opened the scoring just 39 seconds into the game, assisted by Devin Campbell and Josh Zizek, and he closed the night with an empty-net goal with 1:04 remaining in the game. Cameron Berry scored 1:32 into the first, off a Thomas Horn assist, and Oswego's lead grew to 3-0 when Tanner Spink found the net 11:10 into the period, assisted by Aaron Huffnagle and Mitch Emerson. Michael Gillespie extended the lead to 4-0 with 7:39 left in the second. Herlihey and Zizek recorded assists on the goal.

Cortland got on the board with 7:27 left in the third when Sean Perichak (Oakville, ON/Markham Royals) redirected a shot in front of the cage during a Red Dragon power play for his second goal of the season. Louis DiMatteo (Nobleton, ON/Trenton Golden Hawks) and Andrew Gleason (Vestal/Syracuse Stars) earned assists on the play.

Oswego goalie David Richer made 19 saves, while Cortland netminder Drew Weigman (Annapolis, MD/Northern Cyclones) stopped 23 shots on goal.

Cortland did not commit any penalties in the game, while Oswego was whistled for just three minors.

Cortland will host SUNY Canton in a pair of non-league games on Friday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3 p.m.

Oswego 5, Cortland 1

Score by periods:

Cortland 0-0-1 1
Oswego 3-1-1 5

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)

Cortland: Sean Perichak 1-0, Louis DiMatteo 0-1, Andrew Gleason 0-1
Oswego: Mitch Herlihey 2-1, Michael Gillespie 1-1, Cameron Berry 1-0, Tanner Spink 1-0, Josh Zizek 0-2, Devin Campbell 0-1, Thomas Horn 0-1, Aaron Huffnagle 0-1, Mitch Emerson 0-1, Carter Allen 0-1

Saves: Drew Weigman (Cortland) 23 saves (4 GA in 58:15), Empty Net 1:45; David Richer (Oswego) 19 saves (1 GA in 60:00)

Shots on Goal: Oswego 28 (11-10-7), Cortland 20 (7-4-9)
Penalties: Oswego 3-6:00, Cortland 0-0:00
Power Play: Cortland 1-3, Oswego 0-0

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 7-10, 3-7 SUNYAC; Oswego (Lakers) 12-3-1, 7-0-1 SUNYAC (ranked 5th nationally in Div. III)