Tom Pokorney skated with ease and grace as if he were the only one on the ice. The senior defenseman, however, was not the only one on the ice.
He was surrounded by three West Virginia skaters as he deked and slid around them, Pokorney fired a wrist shot, just missing the upper-right corner of the net.
The defenseman was an instrumental part of No. 5 Ohio’s 12-1 win over West Virginia at Bird Arena. Pokorney’s role in Friday’s game wasn’t seen on the stat sheet. It was seen in the parts of the game that go unnoticed.
As one of five defensemen – Jake Houston and Nick Grose were both healthy scratches – Pokorney’s role in Ohio’s transition game and parts of the offensive game were crucial, as it allowed its forwards to score goal after goal.
“I just tried to keep things simple tonight,” he said. “For me, I just need to relax and the chances will come.”
While he spent most of his night retrieving pucks and setting up the Bobcats offensive charges, Pokorney silently racked up quality shift after shift.
His most notable shift happened at the half way mark of the second period. The Bobcats suffered two penalties that caused them to be down on a 5-on-3. Ohio’s lone defensemen on the ice at the time, Pokorney interjected himself between two West Virginia skaters against the boards, which caused precious seconds of the Mountaineers' plus-two-man advantage to dwindle.
He then checked his body into another West Virginia skater, further delaying its chance to score.
Pokorney’s tireless effort didn’t go unnoticed. Coach Sean Hogan said he was proud of how the senior played with some of the cards missing from Ohio’s deck.
“He’s done a great job (so far),” Hogan said. “Tommy’s one of the best skating defensemen in the league so we can utilize his abilities.”
A former forward, Pokorney’s stick skills are comparable to the likes of Gianni Evangelisti, Tyler Harkins and Matt Rudin. With such precision and patience in his craft, it caused fits for the Mountaineers during Friday’s game.
Along with his skill set, Pokorney physically holds an advantage over most of Ohio’s opponents. He’s able to hold the puck out in front of him, which is beneficial on both sides of the game.
“Offensively it helps me protect the puck,” Pokorney said. “It’s more helpful on the defensive end because they don’t know how long my reach is until the puck is gone off their stick.”
A handful of poke checks, including one that led to Pokorney’s first goal of the season, helped Ohio find success.
While poke checks and setting up the offense in transition aren’t on the stat sheet, for Pokorney it doesn’t matter. What matters is playing in his role.
“I thought from top to bottom we played really well,” he said. “Everybody contributed and everybody did their role.”
