If there were any questions about the strength of Ohio’s hockey team heading into this season, the squad has proven that it has the answers at both ends of the ice in the early part of the season.
But coach Dan Morris has been with the Bobcats long enough to know that early supremacy can have adverse effects.
“Sometimes when you have early success, the tendency is to plateau,” Morris said. “Hockey seasons are like roller coasters in that it can be tough to maintain a high-level, especially with as many new players as we have.”
Ohio’s next opponent, the Arizona Wildcats (4-2), place 16 spots below the top-ranked Bobcats (8-0) in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association standings. After surviving this past week’s battle with then fourth-ranked Oklahoma unscathed, it could be easy for Ohio to be ambivalent toward how they prepare for future contests against weaker opponents.
Junior defenseman Jonathan Gulch said that after having been taught by a previous coach to “play hardest no matter what caliber team you play against,” he tries to inspire his younger teammates to do the same.
“I don’t want them to get too high or too low while playing,” Gulch said. “I try and stay even keel so I can lead as an example.”
Morris said the team’s understanding of the fundamentals that have contributed to its early victories, which he calls “the equation to success,” would play a key role in prolonging its winning ways.
“Early on, the team has followed the equation and been successful,” Morris said. “With that in the back of the players’ minds, they have a foundation to look back on if we go through losing stretches.”
Assistant coach Michael Callan said that while Oklahoma gave the coaching staff an idea of the areas that needed the most work during this week’s practice, the Bobcats will primarily rely on competition between their own players as a way to move forward.
“It’s absolutely crucial to get better throughout the course of the season,” Callan said. “We understand that we need to have our players challenge each other more in practice. Inter-team competition is one way for them to get better.”
jd202409@ohiou.edu
