A blowout is nothing new for Ohio this season, but Friday’s 9-1 domination of Roosevelt was one of its most lopsided yet.
Despite the fact that Ohio won by eight goals, the game was close at one point. The Bobcats scored inside the first 10 minutes, but the Lakers tied the game just three minutes later.
A goal by defenseman Colin Felton gave Ohio a 2-1 lead with under six minutes to go in the first period to put it up going into the intermission. It had been a tight, physical game up to that point, but the Bobcats took over in the second period.
Tyler Kallay made it 3-1 less than 90 seconds into the next period, and Ohio controlled the puck afterward until Andrew Wells put it up three scores with a goal of his own.
The most important interval of the game, however, was the final five minutes of the second period. With 4:44 remaining, Ryan Hastings took a penalty for hooking, but the Bobcats survived the power play without letting a goal in.
Spencer Schons was called for slashing just four seconds after Roosevelt’s power play ended. The Bobcats faced another two minutes in the penalty box and gave a golden opportunity for Roosevelt to get back in the game.
What followed was one of Ohio’s most impressive sequences of the season, as they killed off a second straight penalty and got the crowd energized with a stretch of blocked shots.
“That was the biggest four minutes of the game,” captain Sam Turner said. “Our penalty kill has been doing amazing work in practice, and it really showed out there. That was just unbelievable.”
With Bird Arena crowd going crazy and a comfortable 4-1 lead, the Bobcats poured it on in the third period. They more than doubled the Lakers’ shots and scored five goals to push their lead to 9-1.
Turner scored three of those goals, and he recorded Ohio’s first hat trick of the season and took over the team lead in goals.
“I feel good,” Turner said. “The opportunities presented themselves, and a couple of them were four-on-two, and anyone could have scored in those positions.”
In addition to plenty of players contributing, the Bobcats had plenty of younger faces in the lineup, but they did not miss a beat.
“I think the exciting part is we have new players in the lineup that didn’t change the way we played from last night,” Ohio coach Lionel Mauron said. “Everybody’s contributing. We found our recipe for success.”
The past two games have shown off Ohio’s depth. As its long season presses on, that will only be a bigger advantage.
