Ohio’s regular season ended with disappointment.
The Bobcats came off their first road win and victory over the Flames after a Friday night stunner. Unfortunately for Ohio, even with two goals from Drew Magyar and scores from captains Shawn Baird and Kyle Craddick, the Bobcats’ defense struggled in their 7-4 loss to Liberty on Saturday afternoon at LaHaye Ice Center.
The Bobcats finished the regular season with a 1-7 record against the Flames.
Here are three takeaways from Ohio’s loss:
Jekyll and Hyde defense
After allowing just one goal in a win over Liberty (9-4) the previous night, Ohio’s (4-14) defense struggled Saturday.
The Bobcats’ offense had answers for the Flames after almost every goal, but those were often met with Liberty scoring again right after. There were only so many times the offense put its team back in a position to win.
It’s also never good when the starting goaltender is pulled during the game. Freshman Max Karlenzig was replaced with Matt Server after the second period. Karlenzig allowed five goals in two periods, and two scores got by Turner in the third.
Magyar is still a weapon
Magyar has been Ohio’s best offensive weapon in 2021, and his reign continued when he put up two goals Saturday. His game against Liberty was almost as big and impressive as his three-goal performance against Mercyhurst less than a week prior.
Magyar has 11 goals for the Bobcats this season, which leads the team. His production has only increased as the season has progressed, meaning he might be Ohio’s biggest weapon heading into the American Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
Late-game scuffles
It was a fairly clean game for 55 minutes.
The Bobcats and the Flames usually aren’t friendly with each other, given their rivalry. Despite the history and this possibly being the last time the two teams will see each other this season, most of the game went by without any extracurricular activities.
That was until tempers from both sides started to flare with less than five minutes remaining in the game. It’d be an overstatement to call Saturday’s events a brawl, but both teams faced consequences with ejections.
The Bobcats lost Ryan Higgins, Sam Turner and Nick Erker after the scuffles. The Flames lost four of their own players as well, including stars Brock Thompson and Ryan Cox. Even though Liberty lost more players, it was Ohio that was on the losing side of the penalties when Zach Curry had to sit in the box for Erker, giving the Flames a power-play.
It’s possible the ejections only took place because the game was nearly over and the officials only wanted to get both teams out of the rink without further incident. It’s too early to say if any suspensions will be issued yet. Ohio at least has two games before the ACHA Tournament, but Liberty does not have any left.
The Bobcats will now prepare for two games in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League round robin tournament, where they will meet Lindenwood again as well as Iowa State for the first time in 2021.
