Over the weekend, Ohio faced off against Cincinnati in its first 2023-24 season series. In two games, Ohio was able to outscore Cincinnati 12-4 and take home back-to-back wins to start its season 2-0.
Game One:
Ohio came out swinging in its season debut against Cincinnati, setting the foundation for its season with a dominant 7-2 victory at Cincinnati.
Led in the scoring department by wingers Nikalas Jozefiak and Ryley Scanlon, who chipped in two goals a piece, the Bobcats rallied off six-straight goals before the Bearcats were finally able to answer late in the second period. Other contributions came from Xander Danner and assistant captains Nick Coward and Ethan Tamborski.
On Cincinnati’s end, it showcased the clear inexperience on the defensive end, as junior goalie Justin Blauman only logged seven games last season. The inexperience around the goal and their inability to stop the Bobcat power play was the leading cause behind the offensive onslaught from Ohio.
The Bobcats managed to gain the advantage with five power plays, as play got chippier throughout. Coming in, the Bobcats knew they were facing a physical Cincinnati team. Ohio seemed to feast on this, though.
“I think that’s kind of the way we play,” Zach Hill said following Saturday’s matchup. “We’re a fast team. We’re an aggressive team, so as long as we set the tone there, I feel like we have a good chance.”
Hits against the board almost sounded like lightning at times and the occasional scrum was not an uncommon sight as they eagerly battled to get under the other’s skin. Overall, however, it was the Bobcats that came out on top in the battle of the Cats, setting a dominant tone and building momentum for the rest of the season and onwards.
Game Two:
Like Joe Burrow coming home to visit his parents, the Bobcats are back from Cincinnati with a two-game sweep under its belt.
Coming off a 7-2 road win, Ohio looked to sweep its series with the Bearcats on Saturday. These two teams seemed heated to start things off. Immediate pushing and shoving all over the ice.
“It was super physical yesterday, so we knew it was going to be physical today. That’s a big team and they like to hit a lot,” Ethan Tamborski said.
Cincinnati kicked things off with a goal less than three minutes into the match. The Bobcats struggled to keep a good handle on the puck but would pull it together when Tamborski got the puck to Ryley Scanlon to tie it up. The first period closed in a 1-1 tie, but things would not get any better for the Bearcats moving forward.
Aidan Bepko of Cincinnati and Nikilas Jozefiak had a disagreement on the ice that would land the two in the penalty box. Trent Johnson would poke one past the Cincinnati defense giving the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. The Ohio defense survived a Cincinnati power play and kept the puck not just out of the net, but off of its side of the ice for a majority of the second period. Tambroski would make his presence felt once again, sending in a shot from way out, putting the Bobcats safely ahead to end the period.
Cincinnati would try to strike back five minutes into the third, but the goal was taken off of the board as the Bearcat forward plowed through the Ohio goalie. Jack Mueller didn’t seem to appreciate the way his goalie was treated as he quickly sent one in from a distance. Things continued to stay physical between the two teams until the very end. Cincinnati’s Max Williams would get caught spearing in the crease. Williams stormed off of the ice, ending his night. Scanlon put one more in the back of the net before the end of the period and the Bobcats stopped the Homecoming wreckers, winning the game 5-2.
“Everyone on our team contributed here so it’s a team win. We’re very early in the season, five practices and two wins. I think that looks pretty good,” Tamborski said.
