It may not be your typical backyard rivalry game, but when Ohio hosts Washington & Jefferson this weekend, many players will already know some of the opposition.
Ohio boasts 12 players from Pennsylvania. Washington & Jefferson, which is situated about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, only has 11.
Ohio's roster lists five players as Pittsburgh natives. The Presidents' lists four.
Naturally, the players are playing for a little something extra.
We have to show these people the reason why we left Pennsylvania and came here
said Dave Fitzgerald, a Pittsburgh-area native.
Jim Fuhs, the Bobcats' points leader who also hails from Pittsburgh, received a phone call from his mom, who informed him that he had more in common with one of the Presidents than he originally thought.
(She) told me there is a kid on the (Presidents) that was on my team the first time I ever played hockey Fuhs said.
And he isn't the only Bobcat to know a President.
Ryne Savisky is arguably the Presidents' best player, leading the team in points, goals and assists. But the Bobcats have a pretty solid scouting report on Washington & Jefferson's top threat.
Savisky hails from the same hometown as Ohio's Gerry Raymond. Raymond said that this game will be a lot more competitive, especially between he and Savisky.
We've always played against each other Raymond said. It's always like
'Who's better? Whose team is better?'
Besides the hometown rivalries, there are other less personal issues Ohio (18-13) would like to take care of.
The Bobcats were swept last weekend at Illinois, but noticeably improved in Saturday night's 2-1 loss.
Saturday night we made strides as a team
Fuhs said. This weekend is the first test to see if we can keep building on last weekend. We've had so many times this year when we've made strides
and then we took a step back.
Fitzgerald said that playing against people that they have played with or that hail from their hometown is really just added motivation to do what they already have to do this weekend: win both games.
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