Ohio will look to put the “win” back in the Windy City this weekend.
The Bobcats (20-7-0) can take a step toward fulfilling one of their goals — to win their league’s regular-season crown — when they travel to the Chi-town suburb of Bensenville to take on Central States Collegiate Hockey League rival Robert Morris (18-4-1).
The road trip carries some extra significance for Ohio.
At 7-1 in the CSCHL standings, the Bobcats are two points behind 8-0 Lindenwood, while Robert Morris sits in fourth with seven points at 2-1-1. But with four more games left to play than the two leading teams, the Eagles are still contenders for the regular-season crown, especially if they can pull off a sweep this weekend.
“I think they’re a contender for the league title as well, and I think they see themselves in that way,” coach Dan Morris said. “I would definitely now say that it’s a three-way race. We’ve got to do our part to stay in it; if we don’t do our part, next weekend doesn’t matter.”
Ohio’s next test will be against Lindenwood, and then Penn State will visit Athens for two big games Jan. 27 and 28.
That might make this weekend a pair of trap games, but Morris was incredulous when asked if his team might be looking ahead, and forward Jonathan Pietramala agreed that there was little chance Ohio’s focus would be on anything but the task at hand.
“It’s kind of hard to focus on the present when you look at the future,” Pietramala said. “This whole month is pretty exciting for us, but we just have to take it one game at a time.
“We’re going to be focused and take care of it this weekend.”
Although the matchup with the Eagles likely will be a challenge, it’s one that hasn’t flustered the Bobcats too much in recent years. Ohio has gone 7-1 against the Eagles during the past three seasons, including a sweep the last time the team traveled to Illinois.
But that all means nothing now.
“It’s a tough place to play for us,” Morris said. “They’ve got great goaltending and they’ve got offensive firepower, but they’re very defensive minded too, so goals come at a premium. It’s going to be a tight game, so it’s just a matter of doing the small things right.”
Friday’s game will be even more challenging because of three suspensions to key players — top defenseman Craig Myeroff and second-line forwards Tom Whetsel and Josh Fodor — for fighting during last Saturday’s game against Illinois. All three see time on the power play, and Whetsel and Myeroff are key penalty killers as well.
But their teammates are confident the absences will not be too much of a hindrance.
“Other guys are going to step up and fill in those spots,” said Pietramala, one of Whetsel’s partners on the penalty kill. “We just need to have everyone do their part. It will be a challenge, but we’re going to take care of it.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
