Ohio played for a packed Bird Arena Friday, beating West Virginia 7-0 during Dad's Weekend. Despite the less-than-stellar ice conditions, Ohio was able to earn itself yet another shutout victory.
"Seven to zero is a perfect score for us, "Ohio coach Lionel Mauron said. "Even though we didn't necessarily play a great game, the result is there so we'll take that."
The Bobcats got on the board early, with senior forward JT Schimizzi scoring a goal just over a minute into the period. The Bobcats' ability to move the puck quickly down the ice and clean passes proved their strongest suit in this period, as they had 19 shots on goal compared to the Mountaineers' three.
Luc Reeve scored his 12th goal of the season in the first period with a strong shot assisted by Laker Aldridge. Reeve has been quite the producer for the Bobcats.
"Luc is extremely hardworking no matter who he plays, and he's able to create a lot of offense." Mauron said.
The Bobcats prevented the Mountaineers from gaining any traction in the first period, ending it with a 2-0 lead.
The beginning of the second period was essentially a stalemate, with both teams unable to create any action. The Bobcats went 34 minutes without racking up a single penalty, which is quite the feat for the typically physical team.
"I think we dominated, but the ice conditions were rough, so the game was really slow and there were no penalties," Mauron said.
Eventually, Blake Rossi earned a two-minute minor penalty for hooking in the second period, but the Mountaineers maintained zero penalties. Defensively the Bobcats were proving to be completely indomitable, holding the Mountaineers at zero points throughout the entire second period. Ohio increased its lead to four late in the second period with a goal by Aldridge and Schimizzi.
The third period got off to an electric start, with Aldridge scoring his second goal of the night, sneaking it by the West Virginia goalie Will Simpson just 27 seconds into the period. The line that includes Aldridge, Reeve and Ryan Higgins was a tour de force on offense against West Virginia. Even after securing a 5-0 lead, Ohio was not done on offense. Aldridge came back for more and completed a hat trick, followed up by a slapshot goal by Aidan Grieco.
Heading into tomorrow night's game, Mauron still thinks work is to be done.
"I'd like to see the guys come into tomorrow ready to work," Mauron said. "Even though tonight was maybe easier than some teams, I think we really have to take the game seriously."
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