Pushin’ G
Coming back from a 2-0 loss against Cortland, the Geneseo Ice Knights threw their Feb. 4, 2022 game under the rug like it was nothing—tonight's game (Feb. 5, 2022) was far more important.
Saturday night's game against the Oswego Lakers marked the 100th face-off between the two teams. Since Oswego is already one of Geneseo’s rivals, walking into this game felt exciting. The Ira was packed with fans to its fullest capacity since March 7, 2020. The crowd was ready to be back and cheer our boys on.
The boys skated out with determination as “Hells Bells” played. Within seconds of the first period, Oswego started firing shots on junior goaltender Matt Petizian—being the brick wall that Petizian is, he didn’t let any puck go past him.
The game started off fast—both teams were amped and equally skilled. Geneseo got their second powerplay of the period; sophomore forward Greg Koutsomitis caught a pass from sophomore forward Trent DeNuccio and scored the first goal of the game with six minutes left in the period.
Later, with two minutes left in the period, first-year defenseman Tommy Winn fired a one-timer, scoring the second goal of the game. With three seconds left on the clock, senior forward Dan Bosio picked up a loose puck outside Oswego’s zone and slicked a shot past the goalie, ending the period with a 3-0 advantage.
As the second period started, Oswego was irritable. The Ice Knights were keeping pressure on the puck—senior forward Brendan Miller showed off his silky-mitts moves as he fought through the offensive zone. Shots were being fired left and right.
The game got chippy after junior defenseman Alex Wilkins scored a shorthanded goal, giving Geneseo a 4-0 lead. Oswego clapped back with a goal just twenty seconds later, ending what could have been a shutout.
Oswego had a two-man advantage, but the Ice Knights boxed the Lakers out of their defensive zone, keeping the pressure off of Petizian as he made some incredible saves. Petizian killed Oswego’s powerplay and ended the second period with a score of 4-1.
Heading into the final period of the game, sophomore forward Zach Rehbaum came zooming into Oswego’s zone, firing shots. Here, the game got feisty; little fights broke out left and right as the crowd went crazy. Junior defenseman Nicolas Elia powered up and put in the work to keep the puck out of the defensive zone.
With more back-and-forth play, the puck turned over, bounced off the boards and slid past Petizian. Both teams were throwing checks at each other—the game was getting very heated for such a cold night. Oswego pulled the goalie to get a player advantage, but with just two minutes left, this didn’t do much. The game ended with the Knights’ 4-2 victory over Oswego.
Given the opportunity to interview goal-scorer Tommy Winn after Saturday's game, he said he was excited to “finally be able to fill the Ira.” Winn added, “playing against our rival made me pretty nervous, but it was really good once we started going in the first [period].”
Bouncing back from Friday nights in Cortland, this game was pretty important for the Ice Knights. The boys faced some difficulty during the week when Coach Chris Schultz tested positive for COVID-19 and a couple players were in a positive pool, though the results thankfully came out to be negative.
Winn stated that they watched video of Oswego’s team, so they were prepared and ready to shut them down. Winn said he felt proud of his team for how unstoppable they were in this game, and how well they all performed. He loves the fanbase that cheers him on, and tlove hat his team feels like a family.
“Every day we come to the rink, and we have so much fun. That's what it's all about.”
Winn was nervous to play his first couple of games at Geneseo, and though this game was the first time he played against Oswego, he never felt any pressure from being a freshman. After scoring his second collegiate goal, Winn said, “This definitely tops my first goal, especially [with] it being against our rivals and such a big game. The feeling is beyond words.”
Winn looks up to his elders on the team like Chris Perna and Matthew Doran.
This game was one to see and one for the books! Both teams worked as hard as they could, but Geneseo always finds a way to amaze us no matter the outcome. We look forward to seeing you pack the Ira this Friday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. as we host Fredonia!
Fun Facts about Tommy Winn:
Pregame meal: Premade meal from Wegmans
Favorite thing about Geneseo: “The combination of academics, athletics and social life. There is always something to do here.”
Worst fear: Small spaces
Pets: Sheltie lab named Maya and an apartment bird
Warm up song: “’Pooh Shiesty.’ Shout out to Stef”
Favorite NHL team: Buffalo Sabers
Favorite NHL player: Cale Makar
Which skate he ties first: Right
If he could be any Disney princess: Ariel because “she is unique.”
Go to sock: White Nike socks