Ohio entered the season as the triumphant national champions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, or the ACHA. The league ranked the team No. 1 overall in the preseason poll.
Ohio has a stacked goaltender lineup. All three goalies returned for their senior or graduate years. The trio averaged .940 in save percentage. They combined for seven shutouts. Graduate student Matt Zazon played the most at 13 games. His four shutouts, 12 wins and 1.61 goal against average made him a reliable netminder. Graduate student Garrett Alderman faced off against many of Ohio's toughest opponents, so his four losses out of 12 games played was not as bad as it may seem. He had the highest save percentage at .947. Finally, senior Scott Bird had a 1.45 goals against average for his nine games played. This was good enough for second best in the league out of goalies with at least five starts.
Newly elected captain Noah Holt, a senior forward, had 12 goals and 16 assists. He was excellent on the power play with four goals. His leadership will be essential to Ohio’s success.
Alternate captain Luc Reeve returned as a graduate student. He was crucial to the offence last year. He had a team-leading 21 goals and 21 assists. He also won ACHA’s Player of the Year. Both Holt and Reeve were alternate captains last year.
Graduate student and forward Will Cohen and senior defender Drake Nabozny joined them as new alternate captains. Cohen played all 34 games and tallied nine goals and 11 assists. Nabozny led the defenders in points at 27. At all 34 of Ohio’s games, he showed up for his teammates. He dished out 22 assists on top of his stellar defense. He was rewarded for his efforts with 1st Team All League.
Ohio welcomed new faces, as well. Two Ohio natives, Grant Gostlin and Breydan Zupsansky, joined as sophomores. Three freshman forwards will also suit up for Ohio: Rylan Oster, Alex Thomas and Gianni DiVita. Zupsansky previously played at Chatham University while the other four played for NAHL junior teams.
This is Coach Barry Schutte’s third season. He was named co-Coach of the Year for their conference. He is joined by assistant coach and Ohio Hockey alumnus Andrew Sacca.
Sophomore forward Lance Mengel was another standout player. He totaled 17 points. He was named to the All Rookie Team for the Independent Conference. Mathieu Ovaert, a senior forward, is one of the promising upper classmen. He averaged more than a point per game.
While players like Reeve, Cohen and Holt scored a majority of the goals, all but two skaters scored. 14 skaters had five or more goals. Ohio will need to rely on its depth again to repeat an incredible season.
At the game Friday, the team will unveil a banner commemorating their National Championship.
Their first two weekends are against less skilled teams, Syracuse University and University of Cincinnati. Every other game in October, however, they play top 25 teams. Their toughest challenge will be Adrian College, the No. 2 ranked team.
Ohio will face Syracuse in back to back games at Bird Ice Arena in Athens. The games are both at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Last season, Syracuse finished ranked No. 48. Their overall record was 12-20-3 and were outscored by opponents by 37 goals. Ohio will need to look out for sophomore forward Ben Brant, who scored 20 goals last year.
