Tyler Harkins collapsed onto the Bird Arena ice. He had just missed a shot at the end of the penalty shootout.
He had skated down the ice and fired, his shot going wide. It was the end of Ohio’s 3-2 penalty shootout loss to Davenport on Saturday.
Harkins didn’t want to talk about it after the game. Ohio had been tied with Davenport at the end of regulation, 2-2. After the three-on-three overtime period, the Panthers made two of their penalty shots, and only Jake Houston was going to tuck his home.
It’s not like the Bobcats didn’t have their chances — there were chances all night. Timmy Thurnau hit the post on his shot during the shootout. They had 34 shots, with a few chances on breakaways. Ohio just couldn’t convert.
Its two goals in regulation came on opportune times. After a scoreless first period, Gianni Evangelisti skated down past the blue line, stopped and sent the puck toward the center. Scott Bagby was able to slash the puck past the goalie, and Ohio had its first lead.
Davenport equalized three minutes later. Another minute later, the Panthers took the lead. Halfway through the third period, on a power play, Jake Houston slapped a shot that found its way into the back of the net. Even though the numbers don’t exactly reflect it, the Bobcats continued to find chances.
“(Houston’s) big goal, that sparked our offense,” Cody Black, Ohio’s captain said. “We played pretty much in their zone the entire rest of the game. We just weren’t able to find any bounces.”
The bounces didn’t go their way on either side of the ice. On the offensive ends, deflected shots found their way to the stick of a Davenport skater. On the defensive end, Davenport’s goals came from loose pucks. The loose pucks found themselves in open space, and the Panthers were able to get to them and score.
Despite this, coach Sean Hogan thought his team played well. He understood that it’s disappointing for a team to lose in a penalty shootout, but he still thought his team played well. He was quick to note that it wasn’t a loss for his team in the national rankings, but rather a tie.
“It was a good college hockey game,” Hogan said. “What are you going to do?”
The chances were even there in the three-on-three overtime period. They were able to get up and down the ice, but halfway through, Houston took a high-sticking penalty, which gave Davenport a four-on-three advantage.
Goalie Jimmy Thomas faced a ton of shots during the Bobcats’ penalty kill, even getting his stick knocked away at one point, but he was able to keep the puck out of the net.
“I thought Jimmy played well all weekend,” Hogan said.
Even though Ohio couldn’t convert on some of its chances and finish the sweep of the No. 4 team in the country, he was proud of his team’s effort.
“We worked hard all night.”
