For perhaps the first time this season, the team donning green and white at the Bird on Jan. 25 was hardly recognizable.
No. 20 Illinois upset No. 4 Ohio, 4-3, in a Saturday night hockey contest filled with turnovers and overflowing emotions. Although both teams shared a certain level of frustration, the Illini ultimately took better advantage of opponent miscues.
For the second night in a row, Ohio was on the board first, as Joe Breslin netted a goal from Tom Whetsel and Logan Pfeffer early in the first period. Illinois answered with a goal of their own, before Bobcat defenseman and Athens native Duncan Green tallied his first goal of the season to close out the first period scoring and put Ohio ahead, 2-1.
Although Ohio’s Logan Pfeffer registered a second period goal at 17:06 to make it 3-1, Indiana started to control much of the play throughout the frame. The Illini outshot the Bobcats 15-8 in the second, and they forced several offensive zone turnovers by Ohio that resulted in an up-and-down third period.
Similarly to Friday’s contest, it seemed as if the Bobcats let frustration get the best of them in game two. Ohio defenseman J.C. Gulch took a roughing penalty just 22 seconds into the third period, which translated into a power play goal by Illinois forward John Olen to put the Illini within one.
Roughly five minutes later, after Ohio forward Derek Rahme took a penalty of his own, Olen cashed in again to tie the score, 3-3. Illinois finished it off with 7:05 remaining, when forward Matt Welch netted a goal to give the Illini the lead and the 4-3 win.
Saturday also marked the first time in a number of games the Bobcats were outplayed offensively. Illinois, although trailing in the shot department 14-11 after the first period, caught fire and ended up outshooting Ohio, 35-32.
