Ohio bests Eastern Michigan by a total of 13-1 during weekend series.
As Eastern Michigan skated its fourth player of the game off the ice Saturday, due to a game misconduct ejection, it took a referee to hold back the Eastern Michigan forward from confronting Ohio's goalie Ryan Heltion.
All Heltion could do was wave.
As a metaphor for the series, the Eagles, who totaled 95 penalty minutes during the weekend, left the ice frustrated as the Bobcats won their second game of the weekend in a rout. Because of Eagle penalties, the Bobcats were able to net six power play goals Saturday, with five coming in the third period alone.
The series ended with the Bobcats (4-0-0) winning Saturday, 9-1, and Friday, 4-0.
“What we talk about is that we’re going to outwork, outwill and outcompete,” coach Sean Hogan said. “We want to be able to physically dominate the other team.”
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The Bobcats did just that, holding the Eagles to 13 shots Saturday and just four Friday. The Bobcats peppered the Eagles' net with shots all weekend, shooting 109 in total throughout the two games.
“A lot of the things we talked about we did well, taking away time and space in the neutral zone,” Hogan said. “They didn’t have a lot of chances because we were taking away all of that space.”
Joining in on the scoring was freshman defenseman Trent Johnson, playing in his first series for Ohio. Johnson scored three points against Eastern Michigan, including scoring his first career goal late in the third period Saturday.
“It felt great,” Johnson said. “Honestly, I was just trying to get it through because they were really good at blocking shots, so I was just trying to put it on net, and it went in.”
Another newcomer to the team, freshman Matt Rudin, tallied three goals on the weekend, raising his total to five on the season. Rudin leads the team in goals and points.
“I’m just in the right spot at the right time,” Rudin said. “My teammates set me up with plays, and I just finish it. All the credit goes out to those guys.”
In net, junior goalie Aaron Alkema also recorded his second shutout of the season Friday, with Heltion recording his second win Saturday.
Helping keep the Eagles shot totals low was a credit to the Bobcats' defense, as well as continued offensive pressure led by senior captain Michael Harris — who scored his first goal of the season Friday night.
“It was great. Getting the monkey off the shoulders is always a pretty good feeling,” Harris said. “I was pretty happy about it, but my goal made it 3-1, which was an even bigger goal for the team, which is what really matters.”
While Harris was on the receiving end of penalties resulting in ejections this week, he managed to stay out of the penalty box for the most part.
“We were just the better team flat out, skill-wise, physically and mentally,” Harris said. “I’m really proud of all of the boys because we stuck up for each other and didn’t let them rough us up in our own house.”
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