The cooling system at Bird Arena fired back up yesterday at 2 p.m. after leaks in the system were found and fixed, meaning the Bobcat’s yearly on-ice tryouts are now tentatively scheduled to start Sunday at 9 a.m., according to head coach Dan Morris.
Leaks in the system meant that the on-ice tryouts — scheduled to start this past Tuesday — had to be pushed back, leaving Morris with 50 to 60 players hoping to make the squad and no ice to test them on.
In the meantime, he has been working his contenders through a variety of off-ice workouts mainly to test their mental abilities and capacity to work within a group.
After turning the chillers on, it will take Morris and his staff about four days to build and layer an ice surface in Bird suitable for playing hockey.
When they do get under way, the on-ice tryouts will consist of four scrimmage sessions during the two-day period that was condensed from the original four-day schedule.
After those, Morris will whittle down the hopefuls to just more than 30, from whom he will select the 25 to 28 players for his 2011–12 team.
Morris said he hoped to have that final roster set by Sept. 16 — eight days before Ohio’s home opener against the Washington and Jefferson Presidents.
Players cut from the Division I team will have the option of trying out for the Division II squad, which also will hold tryouts next week.
cd211209@ohiou.edu
