Friday
Ohio (15-7) showed up with a powerful performance in Columbus on Friday night, defeating Ohio State (4-17) 8-2 in the first game of their two-game series.
After a series against Xavier last weekend with two commanding wins (5-0 and 12-1), Ohio looked to continue its winning streak against the Buckeyes away from Athens. The Bobcats started the game strong, going up 2-1 after the first period.
Halfway through the next period, the Bobcats managed to double their score, taking a 4-1 lead over Ohio State. The lead would grow even more by the end of the second, with Ohio up 5-1. Ohio State scored once more in the final period, but it was not enough, as Ohio scored three more times, bringing the final score of the game to 8-2 in favor of Ohio.
The Bobcats player of the game was Winger Ryley Scanlon, who recorded the first hat trick of his career in the game, providing Ohio with a scoring boost to overpower the Buckeyes.
Saturday
For a second straight evening, Ohio took on Ohio State, looking to capture another win as it had the night previous. Play started quickly with the Bobcats finding their rhythm early with an aggressive approach in the opening minutes.
Fans could only catch their breath at the sound of the referee’s whistle. Once the pace started to slow, the Buckeyes took a possessive scheme with their attack, hoping to avoid surrendering the eight goals they had the night prior. Through 10 minutes of play, Ohio State held most of the possession but could not find the back of the net due to some very physical defense from Ohio.
A short scuffle broke out at the 8:54 mark of the quarter, resulting in a two-minute penalty for a clipping call on Ohio State. During the penalty, the Bobcats seized possession of the puck and started taking momentum and finding an offensive rhythm again. They were facilitating at a high level and creating shot opportunities but to no avail.
Ohio State, struggling to defend with the numbers even, took another penalty for cross-checking. Ohio decided to even the numbers back up taking a penalty themselves, Sal Poggiali was assessed the penalty for roughing.
The first period ended just as it had started with the score knotted at 0 for both sides. Once again, Ohio came out firing to start the second period but could not break through for the game’s first goal.
The Buckeyes then took control of the puck and forced the Bobcats into a more defensive scheme, but neither team could find a way past the opposing Goaltender.
After endless effort from the Bobcats, Forward Trent Johnson finally got the zeros off the scoreboard, giving Ohio a lead of 1-0. Jack Mueller and Ethan Tamborski were credited with assists on the scoring play.
Ohio knew to strike while the iron was hot, keeping the pressure on the Buckeyes and taking numerous shots at the goal. Aggression was keeping the Bobcats' offense going, but Mueller did have to step into the penalty box at the 9:21 mark of the period, luckily it would not cost Ohio, who had dominated the period up to that point and continued, even being down a man on the ice.
At the 3:25 mark, a multi-player altercation broke out, which resulted in a double penalty for roughing. Ohio found another goal on a broken play by the Buckeyes, which saw Tamborski receive a pass from Vincent Rengel and give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
The horn rang to bring an end to the second period with Ohio leading Ohio State by a score of 2-0. The Third period opened with a barrage of shots from Ohio State on the Bobcat net and some remarkable resilience from Goalie Matthew Zazon, who kept the Buckeyes off the scoreboard.
Back-and-forth play broke out between the teams as neither could find the net with tough defensive play from both sides. The two teams continued to trade shots back and forth, but neither was able to successfully make a scoring opportunity count.
The penalty box was used once again after a massive collision which saw Ohio’s Joe Folmer guilty of the penalty. Ohio State took advantage of the powerplay and found the net, cutting the Bobcat lead to 2-1 with only a few minutes to play.
After the late scare from the Buckeyes, Ohio nursed home the one-goal lead. Ohio took care of the weekend series against Ohio State, taking both games and looking to keep this momentum flowing until they meet Kentucky next weekend.
ol415422@ohio.edu
