As the curtains came down on a storied rivalry Saturday night it was Penn State, not Ohio, who wanted an encore.
The Icers got the last laugh in the final series at Bird Arena, beating the Bobcats 2-1 and 4-1 in front of overflow crowds. The two wins mean top-ranked Penn State (21-3-1) swept the season series 4-0 in its final year in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, while Ohio (21-11-1) is now on a season-long five-game losing streak.
The two losses leave the fifth-ranked Bobcats 0-9 against the four teams ranked above them in the standings, and that doesn’t sit well with head coach Dan Morris.
“There’s a lot of things that players have to change in here, and I think a lot of it starts upstairs (mentally) with their attitude and their sense of entitlement,” he said. “I think they have to figure out they have got to go earn it instead of people gift-wrapping it and giving it to them.
“I think there’s a realization in there that ‘Hey, maybe we’re not as good as we think we are and we’ve got to get back to working hard.’ ”
Ohio took first-period leads in both games but was unable to stick with the Icers for a full 60 minutes. Defensemen Zack Barbis put Ohio on top 13 minutes in Friday night, scoring from close range off a cross-ice pass from captain Michael Schultz.
The Bobcats were able to take the lead into the third despite being outshot 16-12 in the first two frames, largely thanks to some ad-libbed defense and netminder Teddy Dushkin stymieing Penn State.
But an unyielding Icer attack struck in the final period, as the intensity and pace of the game got to the Bobcats’ defensemen. Penn State’s Taylor Holstrom scored twice, using his speed to get behind Ohio’s blue-liners and finishing past Dushkin to help Penn State win 2-1.
Ohio again took an early lead Saturday, scoring just two minutes in when Jonathan Pietramala redirected a Duncan Green shot past Icers’ goalie Matt Madrazo. This time, Penn State’s response was swift, with George Saad scoring from a faceoff and then Peter Sweetland on a power play to make it 2-1 after one.
Once again, the transition game killed Ohio in the second. Holstrom was thwarted by a Dushkin poke check on a breakaway six minutes in, but just seconds later Eric Steinour found Saad coming off the bench, and he converted his own breakaway chance for a 3-1 lead.
The Bobcats threw all they had at the Icers in the third but couldn’t find a way past Madrazo. When Justin Kirchhevel scored Penn State’s fourth goal with just six minutes remaining, it was all over.
Though he criticized his team after Saturday’s contest, Morris maintained that a national championship is still a realistic target.
“It will change. The season’s a long season,” he said. “So you can change a lot of things, but I think a little humility helps a long way.”
For now, the Bobcats will need to keep their heads down and continue to work at the things that ail them. Next on that list will be to win their first game in nearly a month when they are in action Feb. 10 against Kent State.
“We’ve got to get our confidence up, obviously,” Schultz said. “We’ve lost five straight, so it’s pretty tough, but we’ve just got to look forward to the next weekend.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
