Ohio used three second period goals to beat Illinois 4-1 at Bird Arena Friday night.
With the win, the Bobcats improve their Central States Collegiate Hockey League record to 6-1 on the season, with their overall record now standing at 19-7-0.
The night got off to a slow start in a mostly defensive first period that saw no gilt-edged opportunities for either side, with the teams combining for just 11 shots on goal.
But things picked up in a big way in the middle frame. Just four seconds after Illinois was called for a hooking penalty, OU defenseman Craig Myeroff took the puck off a faceoff and blasted a shot past Fighting Illini goaltender Nick Clarke for a 1-0 lead.
Four minutes later, Ohio forward David Veitch was called for a five-minute major for boarding and given a game misconduct. But what could have been a game-changer for Illinois was quickly negated by two penalties on the Illini, and just 23 seconds after Veitch’s penalty expired Ohio took a 2-0 lead through Jared Fuhs off a terrific feed from Michael Schultz.
Three and a half minutes later Nick Rostek had Ohio’s third, with the goal again coming after a perfect pass from Schultz. Overall, Ohio outshot Illinois 14-8 in a period that saw two misconducts and 37 penalty minutes.
A sliver of hope appeared for the Illini nine minutes into the third when Mike Ursitti put one over Brendan Madden’s glove to bring the score back to 3-1. But some nice saves from Madden in the few minutes after the goal effectively ended any Illinois chances for a comeback, with Brett Agnew putting in an empty netter to make the final score 4-1.
The two teams will square off again at Bird Arena Saturday night, with faceoff scheduled for 7:30.
cd211209@ohiou.edu
