Ohio defeated John Carroll at Bird Arena to give first-year coach Cole Bell his first win with Ohio. The Bobcats dominated for the majority of the game and started their season with a 6-1 win over the Blue Streaks.
The Bobcats showed just how good they can be during the first and third periods. In those two periods, the team scored five of their six goals. They also managed to hold John Carroll scoreless during that time.
The second period was a much different story for Ohio. The team lost composure, finding themselves on the penalty-kill for just over nine minutes in that period. The first penalty in that period resulted in the Blue Streaks’ only goal.
"We probably shouldn't have had eight (penalty) kills,“ Bell said. “We did a terrible job there in the second being disciplined, and that's something we have to get better at."
Bell went on to add there were some positives despite the sloppy play.
"These guys are in the right spot, and the effort is there,“ he said. “That is all I could ask for at this point of the year."
While the penalty kill was effective and allowed just one goal, the power-play failed to convert on its four opportunities tonight. This was something that the team worked on all week in practice to get the right timing.
"The timing is just a little bit off, and that will sharpen up as the season goes on," Bell said, "We had a lot of good puck movement, a lot of good chances and were not far off. We have to sharpen up a little bit.”
Bell also mentioned that there were many positives tonight as well. One of those positives was the offense. All four of Ohio’s lines clicked and scored goals. Players like Gianni Evangelisti and Tyler Harkins — two players expected to lead Ohio’s offensive attack — scored goals, and there were contributions from freshmen, too, that showed the potential of the Bobcats.
"My line played great tonight. That's actually the quickest I've scored two points in my career so far," Kyle Craddick, who had a goal and an assist for the Bobcats, said. “It was a long training camp, the longest of my three years here. We were ready to get after it tonight, and we showed it.”
Tyler Kallay was one of the five freshmen that scored a point tonight. Kallay had the game-winning goal, which came in the first period. Kallay also had an assist on an Andrew Sacca goal in the third period.
"It's pretty amazing. It's definitely something I wasn't expecting," Kallay said about being the first star. "The crowd behind us and all the boys buzzing gives me energy, and I feed off that, so I expect this all year."
For Bell, the success of the freshmen class showed that Ohio has the potential to compete at the top of the American Collegiate Hockey Association yet again despite a new coach and a new era.
"All these guys we brought in are very talented," Bell said. "They are here for a reason. They have earned their spot in the lineup. They have been doing a great job. I'm glad we got to see them rewarded here tonight.”
