Prior to the holiday break, Ohio had played games every weekend since late September. It was the teams first hockey-less weekend.
So coach Sean Hogan will excuse them for a little over-indulging at the Thanksgiving dinner table.
“If you cut them right now, they’d bleed gravy,” Hogan said jokingly.
The well-rested and presumably well-fed Bobcats (14-3-1) will embark on the second half of their season with a two-game slate against divisional foe Lindenwood this weekend at Bird Arena. Friday and Saturday’s games both start at 7:30 p.m.
Recharged batteries
Senior defenseman Alex Vazquez said it plainly: the first day back on the ice after a break is always rough.
Execution in practice was poor Monday as the players worked to regain their sharp hand-eye coordination and puck handling skills.
But where the team’s execution lacked, its effort was in full force.
“We came back with a lot of jump and we were ready to go,” Hogan said.
On Tuesday, players laughed between drills, howled when a teammate popped a particularly nice goal and jeered when somebody wiped out. It was a relaxed yet energetic environment.
“Once you get those couple days off, the energy level comes right back to the top,” Vazquez said. “It brings a little fun back in.”
Teddy toss
Saturday’s game will feature Ohio’s third annual “Teddy Bear Toss,” which Hogan brought to the program after its success when he coached the University of Arizona.
Fans are encouraged to bring stuffed toys to the game and throw them on the ice after the Bobcats score their first goal. In the past two years, Ohio has received more than 350 toys for donation from this event.
The only problem would be if Ohio didn’t score any goals. It happened to Hogan in one of his seasons at Arizona.
Hogan’s team was shutout by Iowa State, which forced the fans to wait until the game’s final buzzer to toss their stuffed animals. They weren’t pleased.
“So there I was on the bench, and the bears were raining down, and people were booing,” Hogan said. “So hopefully we score.”
No MAC, no problem
Vazquez missed his high school prom because he was playing hockey. He has missed weddings and birthdays, too.
This Friday, he and his teammates will miss Ohio’s most significant football game in the past five years. The Ohio football team will be in Detroit playing for the Mid-American Conference title against unbeaten Western Michigan.
Vazquez said players have talked about the game, but the fact that they’re missing it to play hockey is no big deal.
“Everybody’s here to play hockey,” he said. “We know going into playing the game that you’re going to be missing that stuff.”
The grueling junior hockey schedules that most of the players endured have prepared them to miss all sorts of events, Vazquez said.
Hogan added that he thinks his players focus “more on their own thing” and he doesn’t expect a significant impact on Friday’s fan attendance.
Assistant coach J.J. Crew, who played NCAA Division I hockey at Western Michigan, picked the No. 17 Broncos to win by 21 points. Hogan picked Ohio, but didn't offer a score.
