Closing out series has been a problem for the Bobcats all season, and it was on full display this weekend at Bird Arena.
Ohio came out firing on Friday, but then lost in a heartbreaker Saturday night when Robert Morris forward Matt Olsen netted a game-winning goal with no time left on the clock, forcing the Bobcats to settle for yet another split after the 3-2 loss.
The frustrating loss continues a trend that has plagued the Bobcats all year. The Bobcats (16-9) are 9-2 on Fridays but only 5-7 on Saturdays.
Left wing Clay LaBrosse didn't sugarcoat the situation.
In past years
splitting was just not an option LaBrosse said, It seems like we do it all the time now. It's just out of control. We need to find a way to start winning games back-to-back or we're not going to make it very far in Nationals.
After more than 20 days without a game, the Bobcats came out Friday and looked brilliant in every facet of the game, showing no signs of rust in an 11-1 thrashing of the Colonials. Senior forward Dave Fitzgerald netted four goals to lead the Bobcats' offensive onslaught.
I felt pretty good out there Fitzgerald said. We had a tough week of practice; we had a couple of days with two practices
so we got to work on some stuff that people forget
like the little things.
Ohio may have knocked a little too much of Robert Morris' rust off, particularly Colonials goalie Drew Stanton's. Stanton gave up the final five Bobcat goals Friday, but came back on Saturday with a 40-save performance.
Their goaltender played a lot better (Saturday)
coach Dan Morris said. We made some fatal errors in a close hockey game. Some guys didn't get the job done.
I think goals came a little easy (Friday), Morris continued
and I think there was a sense they were going to come as easy (Saturday).
The Bobcats were down 2-1 when right wing Ryan Tessmer got the puck on a breakaway and tied it up with 11:01 remaining in regulation.
I just got the puck on the rush, shot on the net and the goalie didn't know where it was, Tessmer said. I just tapped it in.
Then
exactly eleven minutes and one second later
Olsen put the puck in the net with no time left on the clock.
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22548,2008-01-07 00:00:00,Women's Basketball: Ohio fights to close out winnable games
end plague of turnovers,",If nothing else
the Bobcats have been consistent so far this season.
The Bobcats (7-6) have not won or lost more than two games in a row this season. They have no losses against teams with a losing record
