It took a mere 15 seconds for Ohio to get on the scoreboard against Lindenwood on Saturday, and the scores were a trend that continued throughout the night.
Michael Harris, a sophomore forward, scored the game’s first goal to set the tone in Ohio’s 8-4 win against Lindenwood. Because of a pair of weekend victories against the Lions, Ohio now sits in first place in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL).
Although there were seven other Ohio goals, coach Jonathon Sheridan stressed the importance of tallying the early score.
“It’s very important,” he said. “They wanted to come out hot, but when we scored that goal, it kind of reminded them of (Friday). So I think it just got things going for us.
Ohio also won in a shootout by the score of 4-3 Friday.
“I think every game you want to come out hot, especially after a game you just won,” Sheridan said. “You’ve got to give it to our guys for coming ready to play… It was nice to see the guys finally getting that going.”
The only threat posed to the Bobcats on Saturday came during the third period when Lindenwood scored two goals in just 31 seconds to cut the Lions’ deficit to 7-3.
However, Ohio junior forward Nathan De La Torre responded with his second goal of the game with 4:05 remaining to suppress the rally and put the game out of reach. Lindenwood scored the game’s final goal with 1:38 remaining.
De La Torre earned the first star after registering two goals and an assist. Paul Sergi, Matt Hartman, Brett Agnew, Tyler Pecka and Patrick Spellacy scored Ohio’s other goals. Spellacy, a freshman forward, scored three goals this past weekend.
Although a sweep against a rival such as the Lions can be cause for excitement, Sheridan continues to stress the importance of staying focused down the stretch.
“One of our first goals is to win the league championship for the regular season, and to do that, we’ve got to play every night and every weekend,” Sheridan said. “We’ve got to prepare for (next weekend) like any other weekend and get ready for a win.”
Ohio will hit the road next weekend to play Indiana. Just six games remain on the schedule before the end of the calendar year.
ks363012@ohiou.edu
@kelsey_surmacz4
This article appeared in print under the headline "Consistent scoring puts Ohio first in league"
