Adrian used two quick goals and a ferocious attack to beat Ohio 5-1 in the Bobcat’s last home contest of the season Saturday night at Bird Arena.
The loss drops the Bobcats to 26-13-1 on the season as they finish out their 2011-12 home slate with a 16-4-0 record.
Ohio was given all it could handle in a tough 5-3 victory Friday, and Adrian picked up where it left off Friday, coming out flying to start the game. It paid off when Chris Dixon got the opener just 4:04 into the game on a rebound opportunity. The Bulldogs then added a second 1:42 later when the puck took a massive deflection out front and went up and over Bobcat goaltender Brendan Madden to make it 2-0.
The game remained 2-0 into the second as Ohio couldn’t find a foothold into the contest, largely thanks to tenacious Adrian forward lines that continually pushed Ohio back into its defensive zone. The Bobcats had plenty of chances on the power play, getting five in the first half of the game but failing to convert.
And Adrian once again made them pay with 4:35 left in the period when Alex Norman beat Madden. But another man-advantage gave the Bobcats a faint glimmer of hope, and they finally converted when Nick Rostek picked up a loss pass out front and placed it past Adrian net minder Matt Anderson for Ohio’s first tally.
Still down 3-1 heading into the third the first goal of the period was a must for the Bobcats, but it was once again Adrian hitting the twine just 1:03 into the period. Some sloppy play in the defensive zone gave the Bulldogs three straight shots on Madden, and Spencer Bonomo finally capitalized to make it 4-1. Ohio desperately pushed to get back into the game but were kept out of the scoring areas by a Bulldogs defensive core that successfully hounded Ohio for all 60 minutes.
As they have in most of Ohio’s losses this season, penalties bit the Bobcats hard at key times in the third, stopping any momentum they’d been able to muster. With 13 seconds remaining and long after the outcome was sealed, Darrell Boldon scored into an empty net to make it a final of 5-1.
Madden made 33 saves in the loss, just his third of the season. Anderson was impressive in the Adrian goal, letting in just the one tally on 39 Bobcat shots.
Ohio will be back on the ice next Saturday at 1 p.m. in Strongsville, Ohio, when it takes on Illinois in the first round of the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament.
cd211209@ohiou.edu
