Though a few Ohio players may not have escaped their weekend series with Arizona without their fair share of bumps and bruises, the team’s record remains untarnished for the fifth straight week.
Ohio (10-0) was able to dismantle a feisty Arizona (4-4) squad behind scoring efforts from seven Bobcats and the stout goaltending of netminders Matt Michno, a graduate student, and junior Fedor Dushkin, earning 4-3 and 4-0 wins.
Although Arizona was able to light the lamp only three and a half minutes into Friday’s game, the Wildcats struggled to maintain puck control because of Ohio’s trademark physicality that has kept them at the top of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Ohio’s scoring ability was put on display Friday night, as four different Bobcats were able to find the net. Freshman center James Howard, who recorded a goal in both contests, said that the Bobcats’ weekend showing bodes well for
future success.
“We seem to have the skill and desire that enables us to go out there and score goals on command, which is great,” Howard said. “We’ll need that ability in big games.”
Saturday’s rematch was tilted in Ohio’s favor from the start and ended in a bruising center-ice scuffle as the clock wound down. Six players were ejected after a series of fights, including a bare-fisted throw down involving Ohio senior forward Jonathan Pietramala.
Ohio coach Dan Morris said that his team handled the challenges posed by the Wildcats well, but also noted Arizona’s vlate aggression as “gutless.”
“Hockey’s a game of respect,” he said. “When you go against the tide of the respect for the game, you not only go against the guys you’re playing against, but anybody that plays the game.”
Both Michno and Dushkin took the ice in the weekend series, but it worked in the Bobcats’ favor, as Dushkin was able to shine under the lighter workload and record his first shutout of the season.
cl027410@ohiou.edu
