The Bobcats hockey team won a pair of games this weekend against Pittsburgh.
Although Ohio hosted Pittsburgh for two games this weekend, both pretty much played out the same way.
Dominant from start-to-finish, the No. 9 Bobcats defeated the Panthers by scores of 7-1 and 9-1, respectively, this weekend at Bird Arena to improve to 4-0 on the season.
After handling John Carroll with ease last weekend, Ohio picked up right where it left off with another series of superb passing and eye-popping shot totals. On the weekend, the team outshot Pittsburgh 118-18.
“We’ve done a really good job so far, but it’s only been two weeks,” said coach Sean Hogan. “We haven’t faced a ton of adversity yet, but when we start facing adversity that’s when being mentally tough and physically tough are going to really play into a larger role.”
Saturday’s rout saw more physical play from both teams than the previous night. In the first period alone, the two teams combined to serve 12 penalty minutes. Throughout the game, there were many skirmishes that the referees did not penalize.
“I think it’s just (Pittsburgh) coming back after a tough loss (Friday) and them wanting to prove a point,” defenseman Paul Sergi said about why Saturday was more rough. “I thought we responded pretty well and we didn’t shy away from giving it back to them.”
Sergi was also one of Ohio’s top offensive producers this weekend with three goals and an assist.
“I’m not your typical point-getter from the blue line, but I had a pretty nice weekend,” he said. “It was nice to (play well) in front of my parents.”
Friday didn’t start as planned for the Bobcats, as less than a minute and a half into the game, Panthers forward Joe Randazzo stuffed a loose puck in to give Pittsburgh the early lead.
“It was frustrating for myself; I misplayed the puck really badly,” Friday’s starting goalie Aaron Alkema said. “We were able to come back and put three quick (goals) in on them.”
The Bobcats successfully answered that early goal with three of their own in a five-minute span in the first period. It was part of a streak of seven unanswered goals, which also included two in the second period that were scored just 16 seconds apart.
For the second straight weekend, Alkema received the start for Friday’s game. Despite the early miscue versus Pittsburgh (0-2), he’s played well overall and has allowed just one goal in his two starts. He appears to be the frontrunner for the starting job in net moving forward, but Hogan isn’t showing his cards.
“We haven’t named a number one yet,” he said Saturday after Scott Boyd started for the first time this season. “They’re all going to get their opportunities and the guy who’s playing the best is going to play.”
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