Come this weekend, the Ohio Hockey Hall of Fame will have enshrined three new members in Bill Gurnick, Tiff Clark and Ryan Johnston, celebrations will be held in honor of the sixtieth season and in the mix will feature a series between No. 5 Ohio (18-7-1) and Pittsburgh (15-8-0).
The Bobcats will step out of league play for the first time in 2018 with their final home series of January, which has proved to unfavorable to them as they’re just 1-3 into the new year.
It’s the hope of coach Sean Hogan that they can right the ship this series.
“We need to make sure that we play a focused game,” Hogan said. “If we come out with energy and we play our game, we’re capable of beating anybody.”
This won’t be the first time these two programs have met each other. Last season, the Bobcats took both games from the Panthers in lopsided 9-0 and 8-4 victories.
Following a Bryan Lubin goal that gave Ohio a 5-2 lead in Saturday’s meeting from a year ago, Pitt skaters took out their mounting frustrations and the ensuing brawl was nothing short of pure, genuine, hockey gold.
However, too much is at stake for the Bobcats to engage in too serious of net-scrums.
“We won’t allow it (fighting),” Hogan said. “We’re not overlooking this weekend, but we can’t afford any suspensions because next weekend we have to go to Robert Morris-Illinois; they’re No. 4 and we’re No.5, we’ll need everybody.”
For Ohio to win this weekend, it all goes back to the basics. Following an odd 5-4 loss to then No. 12 Iowa State last Saturday, the Bobcats have tirelessly worked on their D-zone play and empty net situations – the two things that would have won them last Saturday’s game.
Alongside of tightening up on defense, the Bobcats high amount of speedy players will be extremely focal if they can manage to win this weekend's games.
“Guys like Gino (Gianni Evangelisti) and Lubin (Bryan Lubin) need to drive the net through the middle of the ice,” Hogan said. “Kick the puck while driving through the middle of the ice and that will make it very difficult for Pitt to stop (us).”
In comparison, Pittsburgh regained senior forward Brett Oldaker, who in his first game back totaled three points against Kent State.
Oldaker, a transfer from NCAA Division III school Franklin Pierce, has both the size and speed capabilities that Ohio itself heavily relies on to win games.
But Oldaker is just one player, not a team.
As a whole team, Hogan sees the differences between the program from a year ago to the present day.
“I think this year they’re a lot better than last,” Hogan said. “They added a couple of players at the semester; I think offensively they’re much better.”
However, even with the additions and improvement, confidence within the Ohio locker room hasn’t wavered.
“If we play our game, they shouldn’t get chances on us,” Hogan said.
Whether or not if Ohio can play its game is entirely up to itself, but it has its first test Friday at 7:30 p.m.
