Buried beneath Ohio’s bizarre, abrupt ending to its game against Illinois on Saturday night, there was a play in the second period that encapsulated the team’s identity.
In the middle of the first line change of the period, forward Ryan Higgins chased a loose puck deep into Illinois’ defensive zone, where he planted a defenseman into the boards. Landing that hit right at the start of the period established that even though the Bobcats were down, they were far from out.
“It was awesome,” Ohio coach Lionel Mauron said. “Seeing him go out there and put his all into a shift shows the character we need, no matter the score.”
Physicality has been a major focus for the Bobcats this season. Their first 11 games were at home, and that physicality consistently got them off to hot starts while invigorating the crowd at Bird Arena.
“We want to set the tone,” Higgins said. “Especially if we’re at home. We want to get the crowd going. That gives us momentum, and it’s good to have the crowd back this year.”
Sometimes the aggression goes too far, however, and the Bobcats rack up penalty minutes. The Bobcats have often taken penalties at inopportune times, putting players in the penalty box and setting them back.
While certain types of penalties like slashing have been a thorn in Ohio’s side, it is willing to live with more physical penalties, such as roughing.
“To start out, we were kind of taking some stupid penalties,” Higgins said. “Even though we got penalties this past weekend (against West Virginia and Roosevelt), they were physicality penalties and as long as we keep playing aggressive, we’ll take those penalties, and we’ll kill them.”
Even though it has cost them at certain points this season, the Bobcats are still dedicated to incorporating physicality and aggression into their game plan. It is a necessary baseline that allows them to show off their skill, which in turn leads to goals and wins.
“It creates space for us to use our skill,” Mauron said. “When you’re very physical, you create some turnovers, and they start to back down a little bit. You have more room to make plays, and you kind of have that mental edge on them as well.”
That mental edge pays off for the Bobcats in the long run. It comes in handy when they face ranked opponents or opponents with stronger rosters. Teams like Iowa State or upcoming opponent Adrian may be ranked higher than Ohio, but they struggle to keep up with its scrappy playstyle.
As the difficulty of Ohio’s schedule ramps up, Mauron knows Ohio will have to embrace its physicality to make up for any potential talent differences.
“Compared to the best teams in the country, maybe we’re not as skilled and don’t have that much talent,” Mauron said. “But our work ethic and doing these details defensively, I think, can put us over the edge.”
No matter what happens as the season progresses, Mauron is confident in the Bobcats. He knows they are ready and willing to knock around anyone who dares to take too long with the puck.
