The "Big Dog Belt" has become a large part of the Bobcats locker room.
Walking through an aisle with some teammates at Wal-Mart, Ohio junior forward Matt Hartman stopped in admiration. He looked at a kiosk nearby, and there it sat. It was perfect.
A plastic, shiny, $20 World Wrestling Entertainment Championship Belt.
It's customary in hockey locker rooms across all levels of play to give out an award to the “Most Valuable Player” after a victory. The prize could range anywhere from a hard hat — to symbolize tough play — or something as simple as a "game puck."
The Bobcats give out a wrestling belt.
“We were struggling a little bit through that Lindenwood series, and through that first game at Illinois,” Hartman said. “I thought we needed something to pick us up. A lot of us are big wrestling fans on the team, so a lot of us love WWE.”
The “Big Dog Belt,” as Ohio calls it, was put into commission when the previous award, a hard hat, was stolen. The belt was bought by Hartman in the aftermath of being swept at home by Lindenwood, Ohio’s first losses of the season in October.
“Normally, what we dish out at the end of a game is a hard hat to the player who worked their ass off the most that night,” senior captain Michael Harris said. “Somebody took the hard hat, so we just got the ‘Big Dog Belt,’ cause we’re the big dogs.”
The belt made its first appearance on the road trip to Illinois the following week, but was unable to be given out on Friday due to a third consecutive loss.
The belt was handed out to Hartman that following Saturday when Ohio beat Illinois 3-2.
“I think it gave us a little bit of a morale boost going into that second game against Illinois, just kind of all brought us together, because everyone wanted to get the first one,” Hartman said.
The Bobcats are 8-2 since the introduction of belt, a tradition coach Sean Hogan thinks will last throughout the season.
“I wanted something like that," Hogan said. "As a coach, you don’t want to be the one to implement that stuff; it should be a team thing. I think that stuff is important, whether it’s a hard hat or a game puck, the “Big Dog Belt” is very fitting of our team personality.”
The Wal-Mart belt has become a sentimental award for the team and a sign of respect for the player who earns the belt after a win.
The team, consisting of many WWE fans, even gathers together on Monday nights to watch "Monday Night Raw."
“You definitely take pride in it. It’s rewarding,” Harris said. “If you get it after a game, it’s refreshing knowing that, ‘I played well tonight, I was a big part of helping our team win.’ Blocking five shots, whatever, it’s real rewarding.”
But just because it’s a respected award among Ohio doesn’t mean the winner can’t celebrate earning the belt after a win. It's not only allowed, but encouraged, to celebrate as hard as possible once given the award.
Like a true WWE star, once given the belt, the winner lifts it over his head, shaking it with fury and letting out a primal roar in the process, Harris said.
“Once you get it, part of it is just showing it off and giving the best (hockey celebration) with it,” Harris said. “It’s just part of it — you get to celebrate getting it. No one can make fun of you for celebrating because you deserve it.”
The No. 10 Bobcats will hope to carry the new tradition to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Nationals this upcoming March, and give out the belt after a title game, truly becoming the ‘Big Dogs’ of the ACHA.
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