Ohio made its triumphant return to Bird Arena on Saturday when it took part in the annual Green and White intrasquad scrimmage.
The scrimmage was a three-period, 60-minute game, and the Green team came out on top, 6-2.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s scrimmage:
Freshmen performance
Half of the goals scored by either team came from freshmen. Nick Erker scored his two while Green was on a warpath in the third period. J.T. Schimizzi and Ryan Hastings were the only players to score for White.
Schimizzi and Hastings managed to score their goals in the only window of opportunity they were given. White was on a power play, and Schimizzi managed to crack the armor of Jimmy Thomas to tie the game up. Hastings took advantage of the momentum and followed suit shortly after.
“From day one, they’ve shown that they belong here,” coach Cole Bell said. “I was really happy to see them step up tonight. They look like they really belong out there.”
Fixable mistakes
Slight missteps during the scrimmage show a few weaknesses for Ohio, mainly in its defensive work. Several occasions arose where players for both teams got lost in the shuffle and gave up opportunities.
After the White managed to score twice on a power play, the Green couldn’t find their footing for half of the second period. The third period, however, was the breakout for the Green team, when scored four of its six goals were scored.
The White team had its fair share of struggles as well. After it scored two goals, the White couldn’t keep up the pace and even failed to capitalize on a five-on-three power play. The White team made only seven shots on goal during the second period. The Green had 17. Defensive struggles and an inability to maintain the momentum kept the White team from controlling the scrimmage.
“Both teams gave up a few too many good opportunities,“ Bell said. “I think it just came from freezing up and getting flat-footed. We have to brush up on our d-zone a little bit.”
Goalies splitting time
Just like last year’s Green and White scrimmage, Jimmy Thomas was the lone goalie for the Green team. Mason Koster was goalie for the White team in the first and third periods, and Jackson Chilberg subbed in for the second.
Thomas only allowed two goals on 19 shots, which came from Schimizzi and Hastings. The Green team made 17 shots on goal in the second period, and Chilberg denied each one. Koster bore the brunt of Greens’ offense and allowed six goals.
Thomas is Ohio’s long-standing starter, but Koster and Chilberg have been spitting their time to fill in should Thomas need to step out.
“I told the goalies on White to figure out who starts and for how long,” Bell said. “There isn’t one who is over the other, and they both need time to play.”
