Unlike many weekend series Ohio has played this season, the Bobcats finished this weekend with just a split of their two-game trip to North Dakota.
No. 3 Ohio dropped game one against the No. 6 Minot State on Friday 4-3, but bounced back the next evening to win 4-2. The weekend split put Ohio’s record at 21-6-1 overall, which places them in third place in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League.
Scoring goals for Ohio in the game one loss were Michael Harris, David Ramos and Mike Kretz, who leads all Ohio defensemen in points with 17 scores.
The Bobcats played a strong first game, but failed to capitalize on key chances.
One of which occurred during the first period, when the Bobcats did not register a goal on a power play that could have set the tone for the game. Instead, after the penalty clock ran down, the Beavers shifted the momentum with a goal of their own.
However, game two was a different story.
Minot State had extended its winning streak to three games against the Bobcats on Friday, but Ohio rebounded with a victory as a result of four consecutive Ohio goals to start the game. The Bobcats didn’t trail in the contest.
Patrick Spellacy and Brett Agnew each registered two points for the Bobcats and Harris tallied his second goal in as many games during the first period to start the scoring.
Although the Bobcat offense stepped up in the second game, it was the defensive effort that was more significant in the end. The Beavers failed to score a goal until the 48th minute of play, as goaltender Aaron Alkema finished 29 for 31 in saves.
The Bobcats (66 points) are ranked third in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, trailing just No. 1 Arizona State and No. 2 Robert Morris (Ill.). Ohio has scored 136 goals while just allowing a mere 64 scores for a whopping differential of plus-72.
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