The first period of Ohio’s game against Stony Brook was like an anchor, weighing the team down until it finally sank.
The Bobcats fell behind early and were never able to fully recover, falling to the Seawolves 5-2 on Friday in Bird Arena. Although they tried to battle back, the weight of the 3-0 deficit after the first period was too much to overcome in the Bobcats’ rocky start to 2022.
After losing their last two games of 2021 in overtime, the Bobcats knew they couldn’t let their past affect their future. They needed to start the game strong and attack first like they had done so many times at home before.
However, it was Stony Brook that struck first. A goal from forward Matt Minerva with 14:55 remaining in the first period gave the Seawolves a quick lead. A little more than two minutes later, Stony Brook scored again.
Ohio coach Lionel Mauron thinks it was just a couple of bounces that went the wrong way for his team.
“It’s two goals that I think our goalie wants back,” Mauron said.
It’s more than just bad luck that can be attributed to Ohio’s first period woes on Friday. It was a little rusty after not playing in an official game since Dec. 4, 2021.
On top of that, the Bobcats were exhausted early and let the puck get away from them a few too many times. Stony Brook beat Ohio on almost every play in the first period, swiping the puck from it on multiple occasions, especially in the middle of the ice. Puck handling is one thing Mauron wants to work on to keep a rough first period like Friday’s from happening again.
“We need to take care of the puck in the neutral zone,” Mauron said. “It was hard tonight because we played with five defensemen, so when you turn the puck over in the neutral zone (the players) got to go back up and forth, and they got tired.”
Ohio’s game improved as time went on, but it wasn’t enough to recover from its rough start. It was able to hold the Seawolves to only two goals in the last two periods but could only score two of its own as well. Ohio gave its all for the full 60 minutes Friday, but having to play from behind for over 50 of them was too detrimental.
“It's hard when you're down two, and even down three at the end of the first,“ Mauron said. “But we battled back, and I think once we scored the first (goal) we were really battling and deserved a better result.”
This season, most of Ohio’s wins have occurred when it scores first. If Ohio focuses on getting ahead early in its following games, it may be able to find better results later down the line.
