After a regular season that had a rough start but saw plenty of shining moments toward the end, Ohio has one more mission before the American Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs begin.
The Bobcats will travel to Saint Charles, Missouri, to participate in the Central States Collegiate Hockey Association round robin Tournament from March 26-27. An auto bid to the National Tournament is at stake for the weekend.
Here’s what you need to know for the tournament:
Who’s Participating?
Only three CSCHL teams will participate: Along with Ohio (4-14), Lindenwood (13-1), whom the Bobcats have played against four times this season, will host the tournament. Iowa State (13-7-2) will also play as well.
Due to out-of-state travel restrictions, Roosevelt and Illinois, the two other CSCHL teams, will not participate.
How will the winner be decided?
The tournament will run on a point system. For each regulation win, a team is awarded three points. For an overtime win, two points are given out. If a team goes into overtime and loses, it still gets one point. No points are given out for regulation losses.
In the result of a tie for first place, the following tiebreakers will be used in order: head-to-head result for the tied teams, result against a common opponent, goal differential, goals for, goals against and a coin flip as a last case scenario.
When does Ohio play?
Ohio plays its first game of the weekend on March 26 at 7 p.m. against Lindenwood. The Bobcats have met with the Lions four times in 2021 and are 1-3 in the series, with their lone win coming 3-0 on March 12. Ohio lost their most recent game against the Lions when Lindenwood won 2-1 the day after the Bobcats’ win.
Ohio and Iowa State will play on March 27 at 7:10 p.m. The Bobcats and the Cyclones have not met this season but still have a history with each other, including last season when they split two series 2-2.
The last game of the round-robin will be played between Lindenwood and Iowa State on the evening of March 28.
