Ohio's roster is finally set in preparation for team scrimmage Friday.
There were 78 players skating around Bird Arena’s ice last week for hockey tryouts. Only 28 will take the ice for Friday's Green and White scrimmage.
Ohio held a players' meeting last Friday in preparation for the season, where coach Sean Hogan laid out his expectations for the team.
“The culture here is something special,” Hogan said. “Bird Arena is a special place and Ohio hockey is a special program.”
Fantastic freshmen
Ohio is carrying seven freshmen on this year’s team, a group that Hogan hopes can contribute immediately.
Freshman forward Gabe Lampron and freshman defenseman Tom Pockorney both earned their spots through the team tryout, where 58 players were competing for one forward, a defender and a goaltender spot on the team.
“We were looking for someone who could play a physical game at forward for sure,” Hogan said. “We have a lot of guys that can score goals, but there’s only one puck. We want someone who’s physical and will compete every single day, and that’s what Gabe did.”
As for Pockorney, Hogan said it was easy as he was the “clear cut choice” at defenseman.
The team will also carry freshmen defensemen Grant Hazel and Trent Johnson, as well as forwards Cody Black, Bryan Lubin and Matt Rudin.
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Green means go
Though Hogan said that Friday’s upcoming Green and White scrimmage won’t necessarily make or break players' chances of getting into the lineup, it certainly couldn’t hurt to have a good performance.
“It will give us a good chance to have a lot of things on video,” Hogan said. “We’ll be able to tell how guys can handle certain situations.”
The bottom two forward lines for the Bobcats still haven’t been decided, but the scrimmage could help play a part in deciding lines for opening night on Sept. 18.
“We have a lot of interchangeable parts,” Hogan said. “Those bottom two lines are going to be pretty interchangeable.”
The Bobcats will scratch seven of their 28 each game night this season, making the job for Hogan that much harder to put lines and lineups together.
“We’re gonna have a lot of guys play everywhere,” Hogan said. “Everybody’s position on this team is important.”
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