After a three-week break, nobody would have faulted the Bobcats if they came out of the Winter Quarter gate a little slow. But after this weekend, no one has to.
Ohio (20-7-0) put the noise in Illinois for a full 120 minutes during the weekend as it swept away the Fighting Illini (10-9-0). The Bobcats dominated the physical contests by outshooting their opponent 68-28 with 11 players tallying points.
Though Ohio as a team won the war, it was the numerous small battles in each game that made the difference.
“That was one of the keys we talked about, having the confidence that we were the better team and going out there and proving we were confident and strong enough to win those one-on-one battles,” coach Dan Morris said. “I thought we won a lot of those this weekend.”
After a dour first period Friday that saw only 11 shots on goal, the game came to life in the second as Craig Myeroff scored Ohio’s first goal of the new year just four seconds into a power play.
Minutes later, Bobcat forward David Veitch was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a nasty boarding penalty.
But what could have been a game-changer for Illinois proved to be fruitless as the Illini took back-to-back penalties to ruin any momentum they might have had.
When Jared Fuhs scored 1:44 after Veitch’s penalty expired, the game was all but over as Ohio went on to a 4-1 win. But even in victory, the Bobcats knew it was not their best.
“Friday was a little shaky, honestly. We played well enough to win, but we didn’t play up to our capabilities,” forward Nick Rostek said. “But (Saturday) we played pretty well.”
Saturday, the Bobcats carried a 4-1 lead into the third, largely thanks to two goals from the left-winger.
That’s when the game turned into a slugfest. The teams combined to pile up 118 penalty minutes and five ejections in the third, all around a goal by Brett Agnew that brought the final score to 5-1.
Though happy with the victories, Morris was a little perturbed with his team’s lack of discipline down the stretch.
“You try to tell them ‘hey, it’s 5-1, just let the game end,’ ” he said afterward. “You’ve got to see the big picture.”
Two players could be suspended for the team’s first game at Robert Morris next week for fighting Saturday night.
“But sometimes getting college kids to see the big picture is the hardest thing to do,” Morris said.
Brendan Madden provided a more uplifting note. Playing in place of injured starter Teddy Dushkin, the freshman netminder improved to 8-1 on the season, and his teammates have been impressed with the way the walk-on has improved over the last fourth months.
“He’s definitely stepped up and won us some games when we needed him to,” Rostek said. “He has a great work ethic and just wants to get better, so hopefully he’ll continue to.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
