In Friday’s 12-0 win over unranked Pitt, a plethora of Ohio skaters found their way onto the scoresheet.
In this case, a plethora is 14.
This kind of a dominate victory was supposed to happen. In the past two seasons, the Bobcats have swept the Panthers twice by a combined 31-5 score.
Typically, Pitt lies on the schedule sandwiched between a tough Central States Collegiate Hockey League schedule. After what was supposed to be its first series of the new year against league foe and No. 1 Lindenwood was cancelled, the Bobcats had the opportunity to get their legs back under them in a similar fashion to the way they start the season: against lesser-than opponents.
“We shook some rust off in the first period and I knew we would have a chance to do well,” coach Sean Hogan said. “I was happy to see that we were able to get the shutout for Jimmy (Thomas), but there were still some things we could’ve done better.”
The Bobcats hadn’t played a game in over a month, and signs of a lackadaisical performance showed but just for a few moments early in the game.
Matt Rudin netted the first of his three goals just 53 seconds into Pitt’s power play. A short-handed goal was the goal that set the tone for Ohio as the scoring happened in droves.
Rudin’s three goal night wasn’t the only stat that jumped off the sheet. Of the 14 skaters that tallied at least one point in Friday’s game, three had four total points, of the 12 goals scored, there were also 22 assists.
Why it matters
Ohio is one of the few teams in the country with a complete roster, top to bottom.
Having a roster like that sends teams on successful post-season runs, and while it will face opponents much tougher than Pitt, Ohio can build off a performance such as Friday’s.
“When I look at our score sheet, our leading scorer has 10 or 11 goals,” Hogan said. “That shows that we’re deep and that guys can score from different positions.”
An innate ability for any player to score separates Ohio from the rest of the national competition.
“It’s always nice to have guys step up,” Rudin said. “I know further down the road when we go to playoffs that teams know who to cover and what lines to shut down, it’s hard to win games. But when other guys step up, it takes some pressure off.”
With the always-there national championship expectations, it’s possible that the game against Pitt, while somewhat meaningless in the long run, served a greater purpose. As the season phases slowly out of the regular season, bigger challenges lie ahead.
And it’ll take an offensive effort like the one against Pitt for Ohio to get where it wants to be.
