Offensive inconsistency leads to Ohio’s first home losses of the season.
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During the week leading up to Ohio’s series against Robert Morris (IL), goalie Aaron Alkema talked about how guys would need to step up to replace the players lost to USA’s World University Games roster. In the absence of the Bobcats’ top two scorers, no one stepped up to answer the call.
The Eagles’ sweep of the Bobcats by scores of 4-1 and 4-3, in overtime, handed Ohio (24-5-3) its first two home losses of the season.
Puck possession, usually the centerpiece of Ohio’s offensive strategy, was its biggest issue in Friday’s tilt.
Robert Morris (26-4-1) scored less than three minutes into the game after a sloppy turnover in Ohio’s end. The Eagles overwhelmed the Bobcats in the second period, outshooting them 13-3 and scoring three more goals.
Ohio’s Tom Whetsel scored the lone goal of the third period, but that was all the team could muster on offense.
“Just look at our start,” defenseman Paul Sergi said. “We were flat and we didn’t play with very much emotion. We weren’t really doing the things that got us to where we’re at now.”
Saturday’s beginning was even worse for Ohio. Just 20 seconds into the game, Robert Morris scored on its first shot.
The Bobcats fought back, however, and built a one-goal lead in the third period with goals by Sergi and Nathan De La Torre just over a minute apart.
The Bird Arena crowd buzzed with excitement as the clock ticked down. But with a minute and a half remaining, Robert Morris scored to send the game to overtime. The Eagles netted an overtime goal to complete the series sweep, leaving the crowd stunned in silence.
Aside from snapping Ohio’s American Collegiate Hockey Association-best 17-game home winning streak, the series exposed the Bobcats’ undermanned offense. With top-line forwards Michael Harris and Joe Breslin away, the team has yet to find someone to fill their void.
“It obviously hurts missing (Harris and Breslin),” assistant coach •Kyle Schussler said. “But one of the things we pride ourselves on since the get-go is how much depth we have. So, I think a lot of the guys are ready to step up.”
Schussler, along with fellow assistant coach David Nies, are filling in for head coach Sean Hogan for the remainder of the regular season while he coaches with team USA.
Without Harris and Breslin, as well as defenseman Tyler Benson, who is also with team USA, the most noticeably struggling part Ohio’s offense is the power play. The Bobcats were an abysmal 0-for-11 on the man advantage this weekend and even yielded a short-handed goal on one of those opportunities.
“There’s no doubt that you miss something when you lose these guys that make up three-fifths of your first power play unit, but we just gotta work harder,” Sergi said. “The guys in the room won’t use the guys being away as an excuse.”
Although losing two divisional games near the end of the season will make it hard for Ohio to win its division, the coaching staff is confident that adjustments can be made to make this team successful in the bigger picture.
“Today, we’re a really resilient group,” Nies said. “We’ve got a championship team in there for sure.”
@JordanHorrobin
Jh950614@ohio.edu
