The No. 7 Bobcats scored only twice in two games against the No. 17 Illinois.
Ohio came away from its weekend series at Illinois with a regulation loss, a shootout win and plenty of offensive frustration.
The No. 7 Bobcats lost 2-0 Friday to the No. 17 Illini, then rebounded with a 3-2 shootout win Saturday.
Ohio (9-2-1) is likely to drop once again, after last week’s computer rankings sent the team from first to seventh.
Sparse scoring continues
With just two regulation goals on the weekend, and only seven in their last five games, the Bobcats are experiencing offensive friction for the first time this season.
The shot totals remained high Friday (42) and Saturday (39), which defenseman Tyler Pecka credits to the team remaining consistent in its strategy.
“We keep it simple,” Pecka said. “We throw pucks to the net, we crash the net and you just have to believe that with our skill and our effort good things are going to happen.”
Facing tougher opponents recently, Ohio has showed its offense needs to bounce back. In the first six games, the Bobcats averaged over seven goals per game.
Coach Sean Hogan doesn’t want to change his shot-heavy mentality, but this week’s practices can be used for some fine-tuning.
“We’re going to emphasize not missing the net,” Hogan said.
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Bobcats get burned by hot goaltender
In Friday’s shutout loss, Ohio shooters probably felt like they were banging their heads against a cement wall — because that’s how Illinois goalie Joe Olen played.
The Bobcats didn’t fare much better Saturday, but they did push two goals past Olen in regulation before grabbing two more in the shootout.
“Their goalie honestly had one of the better performances I’ve seen out of a goalie for an entire weekend,” Hogan said.
On the weekend, Ohio pumped 81 shots on Olen, but only produced two goals. This disparity of shots versus goals is becoming a trend, and it’s a trend the Bobcats want to stop.
But are the bounces just not going their way, or does something need to change?
“It’s nothing that the forwards are doing wrong,” Pecka said. “They’ve got plenty of skill, they’ve got plenty of ability and they’ve got a lot of goal scorers, so it’ll happen.”
Pecka dazzles in the shootout … again
Three shootouts. Three goals. And on one deke.
Pecka has been right on the money for Ohio in every shootout this season. His goal Saturday tied the shootout 1-1 before Liam Geither ended it in the next round.
Oddly enough, the deke doesn’t even belong to Pecka. Before coming to Ohio, Pecka learned the move from a friend who played goalie.
Pecka is now an obvious choice for Ohio in shootout opportunities. But the details of his deke are still being kept under wraps.
“I don’t want to give it away,” Hogan said. “For whatever reason it’s worked every time so far. I don’t want to jinx it.”
@JordanHorrobin
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