Games tonight and tomorrow night against Central States Collegiate Hockey League foe Western Michigan mark the last road contests of the season for the Ohio hockey team.
The Bobcats (13-4-5 overall, 7-1-5 CSCHL) look impressive on paper compared to the winless-in-conference-play Stallions (4-17-0, 0-14-0 CSCHL), but coach Dan Morris is always sure to make certain his team is weary of Western Michigan.
Any time you play a team like Western
they're always dangerous Morris said. When you play loose you tend to play a little bit better so there's some pressure there. They're coming off a big win against Weber State
which is a win against a top 10 team. They only have a few wins this season so they will be looking to build some momentum.
One reason for Ohio's concern is Lawson Ice Arena, which has not been the kindest venue for Ohio in the past.
We were swept the last time we were up there in 2003
Morris said. It's a tough place for us to play
and it's a long trip for us.
Morris knows wins are not only crucial for league standings, but also for building momentum for the home stretch, during which the Bobcats will have 10 straight games at Bird Arena.
We need the wins
Morris said. It's a conference game and eight league points. Right now
we're tied with Illinois for amount of points lost in our conference play. We want to come home with nothing less than eight points to put the pressure back on Illinois. We need to keep winning and hopefully build a stretch over the next couple of weeks where we're earning all the points we can.
Stellar in Ohio's series against Penn State, goalie Ryan Baksh might find some rest this weekend.
The plan is to give (Derek) DeFelice at least one start this weekend
Morris said. He's played really well throughout the week in practice. The competition between our goaltenders is really driving them. He's undefeated on the year with four wins and two ties so he wants to keep showing his teammates what he can do.
After the split against the Icers last weekend in Bird Arena, Morris has had his team focusing on power play and shorthanded situations.
One of the things we didn't work on during the short week last week was our special teams
so this week we've been working on improving that area of our game and hopefully get some offensive chances out of that.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. both nights for the contests between Ohio and Western Michigan. Ohio will be looking to improve on its 3-4-4 road record.
-Mark Shugar
