In what would prove to be a long weekend for the Ohio hockey team, the Bobcats were able to split a pair of battles in Bird Arena against conference foe Eastern Michigan.
With every last point coming into play in the race for the Central States Collegiate Hockey League title during the closing weeks of the regular season, Ohio (15-7-5 overall, 13-3-2 CSCHL) knew the weekend series with the third-place Eagles (17-9-3, 13-5-0 CSCHL) would be tough.
Eastern's got a great game
and they're a little underrated in the national rankings coach Dan Morris said. They always play us tough and they have a lot of talent.
Friday night proved to be a nightmare for the Bobcats, who were shut out by the Eagles, 1-0, despite out-shooting Eastern Michigan, 45-21.
A lone first-period power play was the difference in the game as a long shot found its way past Ohio net-minder Ryan Baksh through traffic in front of the net. The Bobcats struggled on the power play, going zero-for-five.
We had a lot of chances to score and we didn't execute
Morris said. We were taking goal-scoring for granted
and some of the guys were squeezing the stick a little too tight. We threw a lot of shots at them
and a lot of them were easy saves for (the Eagles' goalie).
Two periods of scoreless hockey started Saturday night's game before the Bobcats came alive in the third, fueled by a skirmish between Matt Gallagher and an Eastern Michigan player.
The guys were tired of getting beaten and pushed around
Morris said. Things weren't going our way all weekend. Gallagher got bear hugged from behind
and the guy kind of picked a fight with him. Matty finished it.
The guys got ticked off and edgy
and the fans got into it
and we turned that into a win. Sometimes big goals or big saves can turn the tide
but sometimes it can just be a guy who's fed up with the way things are going.
Brandon Steffek got Ohio on the board a little over two minutes into the third, and Bob DiPippa made it 2-0 moments later. The Eagles scored next but a power play goal from Joe Branco would stretch the Bobcats' lead to 3-1.
The Eagles tallied one more goal in the closing minutes to make the closing seconds of the game hectic for Ohio, but the Bobcats held on for the 3-2 victory.
Again, the Bobcats out-shot Eastern Michigan, this time 37-18. Baksh was stellar in net for Ohio for the second night in a row.
The split this weekend with the Eagles gives Ohio a 2-2 record against Eastern Michigan this season. The Bobcats took one of two games on the road against the Eagles in mid-November.
Ohio will be back in action again at home this weekend in Bird Arena with a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests against non-conference opponent Delaware
this weekend.
--Mark Shugar
