Ohio skated out to cheers as Bird Arena was filled to the brim for Alumni Weekend. The alumni brought the right energy, as Ohio completed yet another weekend sweep, shutting out Alabama 5-0 Saturday.
Ohio coach Lionel Mauron felt good about Ohio’s gameplay and even saw improvement.
“There was a lot there last night," Mauron said. "We couldn’t finish for the first 40 minutes, but I think we really stuck with it.”
The first period was an aggressive battle of the defenses as Alabama’s increasingly physical strategy saw two penalties called on them. Ohio fought right back, keeping Alabama’s goaltender busy with 17 shots on goal.
The Bobcats had two close shots on the power play, but the period ended with no points on the board.
Mauron does not mind the physicality as the Bobcats head further into the season.
“I think we’re a team that can do good physically," Mauron said. “We have a lot of bigger guys so we’re not afraid to play that way.”
The second period started off strong for the Bobcats with Andrew Sacca slamming the puck into the net on another power play. Just 10 seconds later, however, Andrew Wells garnered a major penalty for boarding and misconduct. The Bobcats still held the Crimson Tide at zero, even though the period ended with 4-on-4 play due to simultaneous Ohio and Alabama penalties.
The third period got rough again defensively with multiple penalties called, including a 10 minute misconduct penalty by Laker Aldridge. However, all the penalties didn’t stop the Bobcats offense.
Aiden Grieco scored his fourth power play goal of the weekend to put the Bobcats up 2-0 at the beginning of the third period. Barely two minutes later, Christian Albertson scored a goal for the Bobcats with an assist from Luc Reeve. Less than three minutes later, Albertson put up yet another one. With just 1:33 remaining in the game, Collin Felton sealed the Bobcats victory with another goal.
Before the Bobcats travel to Illinois on Oct. 14, Mauron is hoping to tighten up technically.
“Right now we need to get our conditioning going," Mauron said. “There’s little details of our structure that are not necessarily in place. It’s good that we’re not playing next weekend because it gives us time to reasses.”
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