After blowing out Kent State 9-1 Friday night, Ohio knew it would be in for more of a battle Satuday. And they got it.
The Bobcats pulled out another win over the Golden Flashes, beating Kent State 3-1 in a much closer and very hard-fought game. With the win the ’Cats improved to 23-11-1 on the season, finishing their regular-season Central States Collegiate Hockey League schedule at 10-3-1.
Unlike Friday, when Ohio shot out to a 3-0 lead just four minutes in, the first period was a scoreless duel as Kent State’s neutral-zone trap effectively neutralized Ohio’s attack.
The game stayed scoreless until the 12:27 mark of the second, when a beautiful Michael Schultz pass hit a streaking Nick Rostek right in from of the net for an easy score and a 1-0 lead.
The Bobcats piled on the pressure into the third but were continually denied by nice goaltending by Kent’s Zachary Nowak. It took a bit of luck for Ohio to get its second 13 minutes into the period, when a deflected Zack Barbis shot found its way to Jay Mazzarella in front of a gaping net.
The Golden Flashes made it interesting when Andrew Gadzak made it 2-1 at the 2:14 mark, but the Bobcats responded immediately just 13 seconds later when John Luciana scored to make it a 3-1 final.Teddy Dushkin made 16 shots in goal for his first win since November, while Ohio threw 44 shots on Nowak.
The Bobcats will face the Golden Flashes again next Friday night in the first round of the CSCHL tournament, which will be held in Athens. The game is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
cd211209@ohiou.edu
