Ohio came in re-energized after Friday’s shutout defeat, and it paid off. Ohio’s teamwork and improvement on both offense and defense were the keys to its 5-3 victory against Central States Collegiate Hockey League rival Maryville.
“I think we brought in our structure a little more and our forecheck was really good,“ Ohio coach Lionel Mauron said. "We had better legs, we played with more energy. That was all really good.”
The Bobcats came out hot in the first period, matching the Saints physicality and not letting them get too close to goaltender Justin Damon. 10:57 into the game, Luc Reeve got the Bobcats on the board with his 19th goal this season.
The first line, comprised of Reeve, Laker Aldridge and Ryan Higgins has proved to be quite the weapon for the Bobcats' offense, as Higgins brought the score to 2-0 less than two minutes later.
Hollander Thompson scored yet another for the Bobcats, but the Saints responded quickly and snuck one by Damon for their first point of the evening. The first period ended with the score at 3-2, as the Saints used their clean passing ability to score once again.
The second period was largely a stalemate, with no scoring and constant back-and-forth between the two teams. This was due in part to Damon, who has been improving as a goalie since the start of the season. That showed Saturday, as he blocked 19 of the Saints 22 shots on goal.
Mauron agrees that Damon has been a key in the Bobcats defense.
“Justin (Damon) is very athletic, very fast and he fights a lot of pucks, so we know when he’s in that we have a chance to win.” said Mauron.
The third period was action packed. Five minutes in, Christian Albertson and Aldridge scored back-to-back goals that brought the score to 5-2 and gave the Bobcats a more comfortable lead.
The rivalry between the Saints and the Bobcats also became most apparent in this period, as the teams earned 18 and 8 penalty minutes, respectively. Aldridge earned six of Ohio’s 16 total penalty minutes Saturday, and he currently has the most penalty minutes on the team with 45 this season.
For Aldridge, that’s just who he is as a player.
“Looking back at junior hockey, I had 600 or 700 penalty minutes over four years," Aldridge said. "That’s kind of like my identity.”
A Saturday victory is also something that Aldridge particularly appreciates, and because Ohio’s win was against rival Maryville, it makes it that much better.
“It’s definitely more fun to beat them out of any team we play," Aldridge said. “It’s just a little more sweet.”
Mauron credits the win Saturday to the Bobcats energy and connection.
“I loved our energy that we have as a group on the bench,“ Mauron said. "Everybody was on the same page and we really worked as a team, and I think that’s really encouraging for the future.”
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