Ohio sweeps No. 12 Liberty on the road to push its record to 11-2-1 on the season.
In Friday's game against Liberty, Ohio coach Sean Hogan was hit in the head repeatedly by the glass behind him stemming from fans pushing on it in an effort to make noise.
“The fans just get really loud, and they get the glass rocking. It hit me right in the back of the head, but it wasn’t on purpose,” Hogan said.
Fortunately for the Bobcats, the glass shifting at LeHaye Ice Center wasn't the only thing the Flames couldn’t fix — Ohio defeated No. 12 Liberty in a weekend sweep.
No. 9 Ohio (11-2-1) found things going its way most of the weekend, with a Saturday victory of 4-1 and a Friday win of 6-3.
On Saturday, the Bobcats took a 1-0 lead early until the Flames (3-6) pushed one past goalie Aaron Alkema to tie the game with less than a second left in the second period.
That’s when the Bobcat offense took over.
Scoring three goals in fewer than three minutes late in the third period, including firsts from forward Gabe Lampron and defenseman Grant Hazel, Ohio put a stamp on the weekend sweep.
“Honestly the whole game we were playing really well. We out chanced them. We outshot them,” Hogan said. “They got that goal at the end of the second with like two-tenths of a second left, so that was a little tough, but we came out in the third ready to play, and I thought it was a real good team victory.”
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Friday's game wasn’t much different, only this time the Bobcats scored three goals early, then smothered the Flames' chances the rest of the way.
On the receiving end of a controversial tripping call that could’ve led to a penalty shot late in the third period, junior Matthew Hartman put the Flames away Friday on the following power play.
“That was pretty nice getting that lucky bounce backdoor on the power play,” Hartman said. “I thought it could have been a penalty shot, but it was nice that the ‘hockey gods’ were looking out for me, giving me that one on the back door.”
Hartman said Ohio entered the renovated Liberty arena unfazed by the almost pro-like atmosphere, playing in an arena that holds a jumbotron above center ice.
“It’s not like a lot of other places you play. The crowd really factors into it,” Hartman said. “We never really play in an arena like that."
In a month that featured 10-plus-hour bus trips, injuries and top-15 teams nearly each weekend, Hogan said he is pleased with where the team is sitting heading into November.
“This last month has been real tough," Hogan said. "At Iowa State, then you got Lindenwood, Illinois on the road — which is always hard. Then you have to go to Liberty, which is a very tough place to play. To be 11-2-1 after our first 14 games with that schedule is pretty impressive.”
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