Editor’s note: This is the last of a three-part series about the hockey team — ranked No. 3 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association — and its top line of Nick Rostek, Michael Schultz and now Jared Fuhs.
When Ohio center Tyler Pilmore left Athens to represent his country at the World University Games, he left a hole down the middle of the Bobcats’ lineup.
It didn't take left winger Michael Schultz long to think of the perfect guy to fill the spot: Jared Fuhs..
“D.B. (assistant coach Derek Bachyski) came up to me personally and asked me who I thought would fit with our line the best,” Schultz said. “I said Fuhs because you know what he is. He’s an energy player and I knew through practice — just doing drills with him — that I can count on him to put to the puck in the net if I get it to him.”
Few players have seen their stock rise this season as much as Fuhs. A junior from Pittsburgh, Pa., he began the year bouncing between the teams’ third and fourth lines, but has steadily played his way onto one of the top lines in the nation.
“I was actually very surprised they chose me for that spot,” Fuhs said. “I guess they like the way I work and how I get the puck to (Schultz and Nick Rostek) and try to let them score.”
Coming to Ohio straight out of high school, Fuhs said he knew it would be a difficult transition. So before he made his decision to come to Athens, he asked for advice from someone with extensive knowledge of the program and campus – his brother Jim Fuhs.
Jim won three Central States Collegiate Hockey League regular season titles during his four-year playing career at Ohio. During his senior year in 2007-2008, he led the club in scoring, took home CSCHL player of the year honors and, like Pilmore, represented Team USA at the World University Games.
“My brother was definitely more of an offensive player. He scored a lot of goals — got a lot of points while he was here,” Fuhs said. “I would say I’m more of a grinder. I’m more defensively-minded.”
Although Fuhs did not have the natural talent of his older brother, he was determined to make his mark on the Ohio hockey program. But most players on the Ohio roster play at least a year of junior hockey before coming to Athens, and coach Dan Morris admitted he wasn’t sure what to expect from the younger Fuhs.
“He wanted to do the work but we weren’t sure if he was going to make the lineup every night as a true freshman,” Morris said. “But guys would be injured or wouldn’t be up to play and halfway through the year we look up and Jared’s been in most of the games.”
Morris said that even heading into last year he questioned where Fuhs would fit. But he put in the work off the ice to force his way into the lineup, and it only seems natural that Fuhs found his niche playing a role most players loathe — penalty killer.
“I like it a lot more than having to do the power play. You just got to work extra hard on the penalty kill,” Fuhs said. “It’s fun to block shots and stuff like that and get your team going.”
During this offseason, though, Fuhs focused on improving the offensive aspect of his game. So far this year it has paid off and he has set career highs in goal and assists with eight apiece. On Jan. 22 against Indiana, he recorded his first multi-goal game of his Bobcats — just his second game playing between Rostek and Schultz.
“He had to work harder than the next guy. He might not have been as talented as some of the other guys but he just had to work,” Morris said. “That’s what Jared does. Now he’s on the top line.”
bl245106@ohio.edu
@ThePostSports
