Ohio had a shutout against Canisius, winning by a score of 7-0 on Friday, outshooting Canisius by a dominant figure of 64-18.
The first period started quickly, as the Bobcats struggled to get out of their defense for the first half of the first period, but managed to get their footing and came back with plenty of shots.
“We didn't take care of the puck as well last weekend,” Ohio head coach Barry Schutte said. “We wanted to show more poise this weekend. We had trouble scoring goals last weekend.”
Luc Reeve had the first goal for the team with 3:42 left in the first period, assisted by Jack Glen. Lance Mengel scored shortly after 17:32 into the first, assisted by Will Cohen and Blake Dustin.
In the second period, Luc Reeve bagged the second goal for the team, assisted by Hollander Thompson and Jack Glen. The Bobcats were able to possess the puck more in the second period, only allowing Canisius to get four shots off.
In the third period, Thompson was able to score two goals. The first goal was scored after the puck shot out to Thompson after a faceoff, and on the second goal, Thompson was able to take advantage of a power play after Canisius defenseman Kobe Depedrina was called for crosschecking, the first penalty of the game.
Nolan Abraham also had a goal in the third period, 6:17 into the third, assisted by Mathieu Ovaert and Drake Albers. Drake Nabozny also had a goal 10:39 into the period, assisted again by Ovaert and Albers.
The Bobcats have had many injuries this season, messing up their lines. Even with the unexpected changes, Schutte was glad it was able to work out as well as it did.
“Games like these are difficult,” Schutte said. “We've had a bunch of injuries, and we had guys playing different roles. We had a forward playing defense to have six back there, and (Kevin) Kasper, I thought he did great. I thought guys stepped up and it was positive, and we finished the right way.”
Saturday
The Bobcats were able to keep the momentum going into the next game, dominating again to finish with a final score of 9-2.
Noah Hold set the tone for the game just two minutes in, scoring his first goal of the period, assisted by Kasper and Nabozny. Canisius forward London Goodwin was called for cross-checking seven minutes into the period, the first penalty of the game. Glen took advantage, scoring the second goal for the Bobcats, and just over a minute later, Abraham scored the third.
Canisius’ Matt Bowen was able to score, but Holt was able to score just nine seconds later, assisted by Nabozny and Gavin Keller.
“We wanted to have a better start, which we did,” Schutte said. “We wanted to have a little more purpose in our O-zone play, and I thought it was a step in the right direction.”
Goodwin scored less than two minutes into the second period for the Golden Griffins, but 26 seconds later, a high-sticking call was called against Canisius. Hollander Thompson scored 2:31 into the second, taking advantage of the power play. Cohen was able to score for the Bobcats, assisted by Kasper, putting the score 7-2 at the end of the second.
Reeve was able to take advantage of another power play after Canisius’ Patrik Pagno was called for tripping, scoring the first goal of the third period unassisted. Matt Witt scored the ninth and last goal of the game deep into the third period, assisted by Graham Broadfoot.
In total, seven penalties were called against the Bobcats, but the defence was able to stop any goals while being a man down.
“We've had some good pairings up front on the kill, and they've been really consistent,” Schutte said. “I think they've really done a nice job as a unit overall. We want to be aggressive and take away time and space and not allow them to set up, and have the time and space.”
With the Winter Olympics airing, he said the team is excited to follow the hockey competition and the rivalries that come with it.
“All the teams are pretty stacked, and it's anyone's game, and it'll be interesting,” Schutte said. “We've got some Canada, US, Switzerland wars going on in the locker room, but it'll be a lot of fun, and there'll be some banter back and forth.”
