Kent State showed up with a chip on its shoulder Saturday night, looking to avenge the previous night's loss at the hands of the Bobcats.
Just over two hours later, that chip no longer existed.
The Golden Flashes (15-9-1, 6-4-0 Central States Collegiate Hockey League) buried two first period power-play goals to jump ahead early, and defeated Ohio 3-2. This was a role reversal from Friday night, when the Bobcats (24-2-1, 11-1-0 CSCHL) had the two-goal advantage after 20 minutes.
We were distracted all first period
coach Dan Morris said. We were mentally weak tonight.
The Bobcats fought back, cutting the lead in half as forward Ryan Tessmer scored his 17th goal of the season. Forward Zach Tisdale tallied his sixth goal of the season in the third period to tie the game at two goals apiece, but Kent State sharpshooter Justin Phenney put the Flashes ahead for good with two and a half minutes remaining in the game.
Phenney also assisted on both of Kent's first-period goals, giving him 45 points on the season.
Kent played good desperate hockey Morris said. They played to win
and we played not to lose. That's when you have to be the most mentally tough
and we let a little satisfaction sneak in when we got it tied.
Morris noted that Kent dictated the tempo of Saturday's game by utilizing face off violations, ice issues in the goal creases and late line changes during stoppages in play to keep the Bobcats out-of -sync.
The referees allowed them to slow the game down
he said. There was nothing done to stop that.
The Bobcats managed to put 34 shots on goal while limiting the Flashes to 16, but Kent goaltender Ryan Gregory had a solid night to keep the Ohio attack at bay.
Each team had five power plays, but the Bobcats failed to cash in while Kent State used its chances to build a two-goal lead.
The loss marks the end of Ohio's 15-game win streak as well as its first CSCHL defeat. The Bobcats had not lost since being shut out by Delaware Oct. 17 and had not lost a league game since dropping back-to-back home games against Kent on February 20 and 21.
The Bobcats do not play again until Jan. 8. Despite snapping their win streak before the schedule break, Morris believes his team has had a successful first half.
I think (this loss) will stick with them
he said. In the grand scheme of things
losing's okay
and it's a good time to lose mentally for our players. I think our heads are getting a little big. It's tough to be focused for every game that you play. It's a challenge.
The Bobcats had aimed for a top-five ACHA ranking and first place in the CSCHL.
A lot of times those goals are not met
but overall I'm happy with the way we played the first half of the year
Morris said.
