Coach Sean Hogan stood at center ice in Bird Arena following Thursday’s practice. He addressed his team with one message: play simple

No. 6 Ohio (8-1-1) is set to travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, where it’ll face off against No. 8 Liberty (10-2-1) in a non-league American Collegiate Hockey Association series.

Last season, the Bobcats swept the Flames in an impressive short-handed feat. Ohio only had 16 skaters for its pair of wins.

Regardless, both teams feature revamped rosters and believe they’ve made improvements that will make this weekend one to remember when they look back on the schedule.

And ahead of the weekend’s matchup, here are six things to look for ahead of Ohio’s series at Liberty.

Excited play

Liberty is home to one of the country’s most renowned ice rinks. The LaHaye Ice Center was built in 2006 and has a capacity of 4,000.

Each year, the Bobcats look forward to the road trip because of the state-of-the-art facilities. While they enjoy the confines of Bird Arena, there is something to be said for playing in an arena such as Liberty’s.

Dumb penalties

While the venue is one of the country’s best, it won’t prevent Ohio’s recent trend of unnecessary penalties. In its series against Davenport last weekend, Ohio totaled 24 minutes in penalties. Against some of the nation’s top talent, the Bobcats are going to have to play smarter and sharper.

Quick offense

The penalties have been a downside, but on the other side of the coin, the Bobcats have been getting the scoreboard quickly. In Game 1 of the Davenport series, sophomore forward Zach Frank scored just three minutes into the game. Ohio’s offensive style of play lends itself to quick goals as it works the pucks low-to-high in the offensive zone. Along with working high-to-low, Ohio skaters have a knack for scoring off of rebounds from goalie deflections.

Defensive strength

As the season goes on, Ohio’s defensive pairings only get better. While the first few weeks are loaded with lesser-than opponents, Ohio is getting into the nitty-gritty of its schedule. Sure, it had its mental lapses against Davenport a week ago, that’s bound to happen against some of the country’s top talent. With another test this weekend, and a road one at that, it’s another opportunity for the Bobcats defense to tighten up and play loose all at the same time.

Thomas and the pipes

Goalie Jimmy Thomas proves weekly that he’s one of the country’s best in net. Through eight games, the junior has posted a .934 save percentage, along with 1.49 goal against average. Much like the defensemen in front of him, as the season goes on Thomas’ performance in the net gets better. Last season against the Flames, Thomas only allowed four goals with a short-handed roster. Now with a team that has healthy scratches every week, the load Thomas bears has been lighter this year.