As a winter storm rolled into Athens, the Bobcats faced off against the Stony Brook University Seawolves. In the most recent rankings, Ohio maintained its No. 2 spot while Stony Brook went from unranked to No. 22.
Originally scheduled to be a two-game series, the teams decided to cancel Saturday’s game due to severe weather. As of now, there are no plans to reschedule. All tickets will be refunded.
Ohio (23-3) secured a 6-0 victory over Stony Brook (12-10-2). A strong defense gave the Bobcats the edge. Senior goalie Matt Zazon earned his third shutout of the season. Although it took a bit for the scoring chances to come, they more than doubled the opponent in shots, 55-27.
The Bobcats controlled the puck early. The Seawolves intercepted passes and pushed the Bobcats to the boards, but could not generate offense when they had the puck in the offensive zone.
“I thought we turned over too many pucks in the neutral zone,” Ohio head coach Barry Schutte said. “We were too cute around the other team, tried to make an extra pass for no reason.”
Zazon and Stony Brook’s goalie, Steven Reganato, made excellent saves as the game went back and forth between the teams. With six minutes left in the first period, Reganato played the puck poorly and left the net wide open. The Bobcats just barely missed when the shot hit the post. Still, this play opened the floodgates.
Freshman forward Lance Mengel made a spinning pass to alternate captain and forward Luc Reeve, who scored the Bobcats’ first goal. Freshman defender Brady Gilbert had the secondary assist. After the next faceoff, sophomore forward Nolan Abraham scored. His casual-looking shot caught the goalie unaware. Junior forward Will Cohen and sophomore defender TJ Richey assisted the goal.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Mengel said. “Everyone’s pulling the same rope in the same direction together. It’s been easy to mix in and out with the guys.”
Mengel has moved between different lines recently as the team adjusts to injuries.
In the second period, the Seawolves were able to find an offensive rhythm but did not score. Zazon made a pretty save in the middle of the frame, but otherwise, the first half was uneventful.
“He just looks really calm back there,” Schutte said. “Whether it’s a big-time chance or a ho-hum chance, his heart rate seems to stay the same.”
Assistant captain and forward Noah Holt found the back of the net as Stony Brook scrambled to regain their positions. Cohen and Abraham got their second points of the night with the assists.
After a Stony Brook player slid into Zazon, the teams had a quick tussle to end the period. The refs did not award any penalties.
In the third period, the Bobcats shone. They maintained pressure on the Seawolves and forced them into a penalty. Senior forward Drake Albers scored a power-play goal with assists from sophomore defender Blake Dustin and senior captain Jack Glen.
Ohio had two more high danger scoring chances, but the next goal did not come until 90 seconds left in the game. Sophomore Kevin Kasper wrapped around the goal to sling a pass to junior forward Graham Broadfoot, who tipped it in to score. Junior Barron Stibbe had the secondary assist. Then, with 20 seconds remaining, Mengel buried the puck on a slap shot. Seniors Hollander Thompson and Tommy Kloepfer assisted.
“You’re up by a bunch of goals, and you think you can take your foot off the gas,” Schutte said. “But I like how we batted for him (Zazon) to continue with that shutout. We finished the game properly.”
The Bobcats celebrated Military Appreciation Night before the game. Lieutenant Colonel and professor of military science Troy A. Lovely performed the ceremonial puck drop.
Ohio continues its campaign to nationals when it plays No. 5-ranked Niagara University (17-5) in Lewiston, New York, Jan. 30 and 31.
