A year ago, the scenery for Garrett Elmore, Nick Grose and Timmy Thurnau was much different than what they have today.
Each sophomore was still on a hockey team, but rather than playing with the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the trio played for the NCAA — the primary difference between the two leagues is that NCAA hockey programs qualify as a varsity team and receive funding from the school.
Grose, a defenseman, played his freshman year with Utica College, which is in the same conference (Empire 8) as Thurnau, a forward who transferred from Elmira College. Elmore, also a forward, transferred from Gustavus Adolphus College.
Coach Sean Hogan spent Ohio's previous offseason looking to fill the void from 10 senior departures from his 2016-17 team. Due to tampering rules, the Bobcats can't reach out to NCAA players looking to transfer over to ACHA programs. NCAA players must reach out to ACHA teams if they want to switch.
Hogan had no shortage of calls from NCAA players over the 2017 offseason. He received inquiries from "seven or eight" players, but found what he needed in Elmore, Grose and Thurnau, who all previously attended Division III programs.
After getting accepted to the university, the trio was instantly involved with the team, and the transition from moving from one school to another has worked well for each player.
The three newcomers have combined for nine goals and 14 assists in 16 games.
"They've been big contributors," Hogan said. "Most importantly, all three of them fit into our culture really well. They're good kids. That's the most important thing when we get transfers. You want good players, but more importantly, you want good kids. That's really important to us."
Elmore leads all of Ohio's new players with five goals and nine points. He's enjoyed his fresh start with the Bobcats after spending his freshman season recovering from a torn ACL injury suffered in his first regular season game with Gustavus Adolphus.
After six months off the ice because of the injury, the native of Brentwood, Tennessee, is happy to see that his talents weren't lost.
"I was wondering if I was going to go back and be the same player that I was," Elmore said of the injury. "It ended up that nothing really changed a whole lot."
Elmore was appreciative of Hogan, who still gave him a roster spot despite appearing in just one game a season ago.
Elmore attributed his resume, which included three years in the North American Hockey League, as the main reason why he felt he was able to bypass the tryout process. Other NCAA players looking to transfer to Ohio are not always as fortunate and still have to crack the roster via open tryout.
"I played there for three years and, if you can stick in that league, I mean I'm not bragging or anything, it's a good league," Elmore humbly said. "That's the only reason I would think that he would think, 'He played here for three years, and he can probably hang here.' Honestly, he put some faith into me and it ended up working out."
Grose, on the other hand, was looking to get away from the small-school environment of Utica, which enrolls about 5,000 people, according to the school's website.
Despite a state-of-the-art arena and a successful hockey program that went 18-9 in his freshman year, Grose's decision to switch schools wasn't too difficult. Ohio's larger enrollment of about 30,000 students fits the feel Grose desired, and the smaller but often packed environment of Bird Arena is similar to the perks of Grose's former home.
"After a while of being there, I kind of realized that it wasn't the right place," Grose, a native of Fairfax, Virginia, said of Utica. "It really came down to here and Iowa State. That's where my brother went. He played there as well, and obviously that was a fun time, but this place, just, everything taken into account, the hockey program, the school and it's a little bit closer to home, this became my No. 1 choice."
On the ice, Grose has fit the role that Hogan envisioned before the season — a defenseman who can also facilitate offensive production, which Grose did before college in his two years in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Grose tallied 84 points in 106 games in the NOJHL. In his first year with Ohio, Grose has two goals and five assists.
"I think I'm doing well right now. I think I'm fitting into my role as a playmaking defenseman," Grose said. "I always played that kind of style growing up. I figured I'd come in and do the same thing."
Thurnau has also fit the role Hogan was looking to fill.
A native of West Chester, Thurnau has frequently been positioned low in the offensive zone to capitalize on rebounds and win puck battles along the boards.
Thurnau has registered two goals and five assists and is the only Ohio NCAA transfer to have played in all 16 games, but he was frank in his opinion of his production.
"I definitely need to be a lot better," Thurnau said. "I had a pretty quick start, but I've kind of dropped off a little bit. I just haven't really been playing well in general. I haven't been getting pucks deep, a lot of turnovers, so I need to work on that."
Aside from hockey, Thurnau has enjoyed the transition to Ohio, which he made due to financial reasons, but the decision to switch schools was one of the most difficult decisions he's ever made.
Thurnau loved Elmira, but he needed to switch to an in-state school to ease financial spending, and Ohio was the best spot for his future.
That doesn't mean that Thurnau has separated himself from his old school. He was blunt on how often he still speaks to his former teammates, but still current friends he has at Elmira.
"Every day," he said with a nod.
Despite the unwanted change, however, Thurnau voiced the same praise as his other two NCAA-transfer teammates of his new school.
"They've exceeded all my expectations actually," Thurnau said on his new school and team. "I love it here."
