The Bobcats will be looking to douse the offensive attack of Liberty in this weekend’s much-anticipated matchup.
Ohio (2-0-1, 6 pts) enters the weekend ranked No. 9 nationally, while Liberty (5-0-0, 15 pts) enters the weekend holding onto the 13th spot in the American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings.
The Bobcats have been anticipating the matchup against the Flames since the schedule was announced, said Derek Rahme, a sophomore forward, in a previous Post article.
“Last year they gave us our first loss, and they might have celebrated a little bit too much right in front of our faces,” Rahme said. “But we got a little retribution down at nationals, and that’s the best way to beat them. I can’t wait to fill up these stands so they know what we’re all about.”
However, Thursday’s practice leading into the series was one of the worst the team has had all year, coach Jonathan Sheridan said.
“There was no heart, everyone was content, no one was getting on each other,” Sheridan said. “If we play like that, it’s going to be a rough season. They know they had a bad practice, and they can tell. So, just come to the rink tomorrow prepared to work. There’s been a lot of hype behind (the series) on both sides, so (Liberty) is going to be ready; we’ve got to match that.”
Defense was the focus of the week, seeing as the Flames have scored 39 goals in their first five games, and own a +29 goal differential as well as the league-leading scorer Andrew McCombe with five goals and 12 points.
“We’ve been working on that all week; I think we can play very well defensively,” Sheridan said. “I want us to be a defensive-minded team. Looking in the past games, our best defense has been a good offense. We’ve kept the puck in the opposing teams zone.”
The team has the guys who know how to play defense; it’s just a matter of whether or not they execute, Sheridan said.
Freshman goalie Ryan Heltion is expected to receive the start in goal after performing exceptionally in the Bobcats’ past two games. He is currently second in the American Collegiate Hockey Association in goals against average (.096) and fifth in save percentage (.951) among qualifying goalies.
Even with much buildup for the game off the ice, Sheridan considers this just another series.
“We know how to play hockey; we’ve been doing it for a long time, so it’s just another game,” Sheridan said.
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