Ohio went on the road for the first time this season and walked away without a loss –– technically. The Bobcats won Friday night 6-4 at Robert Morris (Illinois) and dropped the second game on Saturday, 5-4 in a shootout.
Friday night’s action saw the Bobcats fall behind 2-0 before storming back, holding Robert Morris to just seven shots in the second and third period combined. Ohio needed late game heroics Saturday night to force overtime, but eventually fell in the shootout.
No. 4 Ohio’s 7-0-1 record will not hurt it in the rankings, due to the American Collegiate Hockey Association scoring the shootout loss as an official tie.
Spellacy Finding Stride
After playing on the same line all year last season, Patrick Spellacy found himself playing on a line with new teammates so far this season. The weekend’s games were ones in which Spellacy looked comfortable with his role and in his line.
Spellacy had two goals on the weekend. His second period goal Friday night broke a 2-2 tie and was the only goal in the second period. His goal Saturday night was crucial. It tied the game for the Bobcats late in the third period to send the game to overtime.
“It takes a little while for him to get used to playing with new guys he hasn’t played with before,” head coach Sean Hogan said. “He’s playing (his line) with two new guys and finding his role but he looked really good this weekend.”
Two-headed beast between the pipes
Friday’s game proved to be another impressive performance by freshman goaltender Jimmy Thomas. Thomas moved to 4-0 on the season after recording 9 saves in the Bobcats' 6-4 win.
Even though he got the win Friday, Thomas did not start in net Saturday. Senior goalie Aaron Alkema was put in the net –– and was up to the challenge. Alkema had 20 saves on 24 shots and stopped two of the three shootout shots that came his way.
“We’re happy with both of them,” Hogan said. “You have a young kid who’s playing well but (Alkema) went in there and he made some big saves for us.”
Even with the shootout loss Saturday night, Hogan saw good things from Alkema.
“I was proud of the way we played,” Hogan said.
Shot advantage
The Bobcats continued their season-long trend of outshooting their opponents. Over the weekend, Ohio outshot Robert Morris 85-38 in two games, including 43-14 Friday night.
“We had a two-to-one shot advantage,” Hogan said. “We’ve got to bury those chances. We gave away far too many goal opportunities.”
While the Bobcats are still winning games, Hogan is not satisfied with the way his team is not capitalizing.
“We have to start getting more bodies in front of the net,” Hogan said. “Far too often we find ourselves playing from the perimeter.”
