This past weekend, Ohio traveled to Virginia to take on Liberty in its last game before nationals. The team came back to Athens with a winning score of 4-2. The four goals of the game from Ohio came from three Bobcats who have been making solid contributions for the team the past few weeks of this season. These three players will most likely come in handy in the upcoming weeks as the Bobcat takes on the ACHA National Tournament.
Mathieu Ovaert has continued to perform strongly this season. His first goal came 32 seconds into the first period, assisted by Noah Holt to start off the game. Liberty’s Ryan Finch scored at 12:44, putting the Flames on the board. Then, later in the period, Ovaert’s second goal brought the score up to 2-1.
Drake Albers scored a few minutes into the second period, set up by Lucas Renzoni and Sam Turner. Holt followed with a goal 10 minutes later, set up by Will Cohen and Hollander Thompson. Liberty’s Nathaniel Albers scored in the 3rd period to bring the final score to 4-2.
Something to note was the amount of penalties for the Bobcats in the second period. With 2 minutes for Drake Nabozny, Andrew Sacca, and Cohen. Luc Reeve and Laker Aldridge separately totaled 4 minutes. With only one Liberty penalty in the second period for Daniel Schwenke, it is clear that the penalties were one-sided for Ohio. Three Bobcats also had penalties in the 3rd period, including a 2-minute on goalie Justin Damon served by Sacca.
Damon played an impressively notable game in Lynchburg, with 33 saves, letting only two goals go by. Damon will be a key player during nationals.
The first round of ACHA National Tournament games for the Bobcats is March 7 in St. Louis, Missouri. The opponent will be the winner of the game between Niagara University and Oswego State.
