It’s back on the road this weekend for the No. 11 Bobcats as they prepare to face No. 16 Illinois.
Ohio (8-3-1, 24 points) will face a Fighting Illini squad (6-6-1, 13 pts) which has only managed to defeat one Division I opponent all season. Illinois started the season by winning five straight games against Division II competition before dropping seven of eight against the top competition.
“I think they’re a dangerous team. They sort of started out hot and then they went into a rut and now they’re coming out of it,” coach Jonathon Sheridan said. “(Illinois Coach) Nick (Fabbrini) and I are friends so there is a rivalry between us. We don’t want to lose to each other, but it’ll be a fun weekend. Playing on that ice is always fun. It’s a cool atmosphere.”
The Bobcats are coming off of a split against No. 7 Iowa State last weekend, winning 1-0 Friday before dropping a 4-3 decision the following night.
Sophomore goalie Aaron Alkema pitched a shutout in Friday’s game stopping all 19 shots he faced. Yet, Saturday’s game went the complete opposite way with Alkema being pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots early in the first.
Freshman goalie Ryan Heltion stepped in and stopped 27-of-28 the rest of the way, allowing the Bobcats to nearly come back and steal a victory.
“It seems like when one guy goes down, the other is ready to go,” Sheridan said.
He added that this was indicative of a strong team atmosphere.
“When one guy is down there’s a bunch of other guys there to pick them up,” Sheridan said. “I think that helps the team also because those guys have confidence, and all of the goalies are friends.”
The battle between the two is a positive problem for the team to deal with.
“When you make a mistake they’re there to pick you up,” Sheridan said. “I wish the team was steadier at times, but it’s nice to know that if one’s down the other will be there for him.”
The team tested out a new method of travel for this past weekend where they went to Ames overnight instead of breaking it up into a two-day trip.
The immediate results were promising, with Ohio winning the Friday game on the same day they arrived.
“It’s kind of cool, get to fall asleep in Ohio and wake up in Iowa,” Sheridan said. “It’s more expensive, so it’s hard for us to use on every trip, but for Minot State, Iowa State, I definitely can see us using it in the future, I wish we had the funds to use it more often but unfortunately we don’t.”
The team will not be using this method of travel for the Illinois series, since the drive is much shorter. The travel time between Athens and Champaign, Ill. is just under six hours.
As was the case for the Saturday’s game against the Iowa State, as well as Saturday contests against Canisius and John Carroll, the Bobcats came out flat and allowed multiple goals to the opposition within the first couple minutes of gameplay.
“I wish I knew exactly how because then it wouldn’t be happening,” Sheridan said. “But, it just comes down to focus. The guys aren’t focused at the beginning of the game.”
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Up Next
Nov 1: Illinois Fighting Illini 8:00 p.m. University of Illinois Ice Arena
Nov 2: Illinois Fighting Illini8:00 p.m. University of Illinois Ice Arena
Fast Fact
Bobcats’ Goalies
Aaron Alkema: 5-1 | 1.46 GAA | 2 SO | .940 SV%
Ryan Heltion: 3-2 | 2.05 GAA | 0 SO | .920 SV%
Scott Boyd: 0-1 | 6.39 GAA | 0 SO | .670 SV%
