After winning its past 10 games, the Ohio hockey team dropped a pair of crucial games to the Penn State Icers, losing 1-0 and 3-1 on Friday and Saturday night respectively.
I feel that we failed
Ohio coach Dan Morris said. We had a challenge in front of us and we did not respond to the challenge very well.
Entering this weekend's matchup, the No. 4 Bobcats (10-3-0, 6-0 Central States Collegiate Hockey League) had high hopes of upsetting the No. 3 Icers, but an inability to convert offensively halted these hopes.
We executed very poorly and our offense did not exist Morris said. We did not do anything remotely close to our game plan and we played scared.
Right wing Paul Warriner said that the Icers did a good job shutting down the Bobcats' power play.
We weren't able to generate a lot of scoring chances
he said. It grew quite frustrating that we could not solve their penalty kill.
On Friday night, offense was at a premium for both squads, with the Icers scoring the only goal with 7:24 remaining in the third period.
In the second game, the Bobcats tallied an early goal by center Dave Fitzgerald, but were unable to notch any other goals through the rest of the game. Penn State responded with two goals, and secured the victory with an empty-net goal at the end of the third period.
Morris said that one of the few bright spots for the Bobcats was the play of goaltender Ryan Baksh, who played in consecutive games for the first time all season. On Friday, he recorded 26 saves, and allowed only three goals during the weekend.
I think that this weekend
I got back on track where I should be
Baksh said. At the same time it's disappointing because we took a step back as a team
being swept at Penn State.
Following a three-game sweep at the AHCA Showcase, the Bobcats struggled for the first time all season. Morris said that the Bobcats will need to respond over the next few weekends with increased confidence.
There was no confidence in what they were doing
he said. It was disappointing as a coach that you don't have that type of leadership to step up and get things done in big moments.
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