Ohio headed up north for its first game of the weekend as it took on Ohio State in Dublin. While the team played well overall, it fell short to the Buckeyes 3-4 and looked to make amends the next day.
On day two, Ohio returned home to Bird Arena, where it secured a commanding 4-2 win after struggling in game one, and to add to the excitement, it was the team's senior day.
Friday
Coming off a weekend sweep in their last series, the Bobcats wanted to prove they were the better of the Ohio schools as the puck dropped late Friday night.
The first period did not hold much for the Bobcats, as the Buckeyes were able to score first with 4:40 to go. Senior Dillan Smith made the goal with an assist from junior Ethan Bishara.
The second period proved to be much of the same as Ohio and Ohio State traded possession for most of the period with neither team adding any points to the board. A powerplay for the Bobcats gave the team a chance with 16:44 to go, but they were unable to capitalize on it.
Ohio started to get things going in the third period, with Ethan Tamborski putting Ohio on the board with 17:22 on the clock.
The Buckeyes didn’t leave much room for error and only a few minutes later added its second and third goals of the game. The second goal of the night was scored once again by Smith, and Bishara added one of his own only a minute later.
Ohio saw its second powerplay of the night with 13:43 on the clock and only a few minutes later used the momentum carried over to bring the score to 3-2 after Salvatore Poggiali put one in the net.
With the clock winding down, Ohio tied the game with less than ten to go on a second goal from Tamborski. Despite Ohio’s momentum, with only two seconds left on the clock, Ohio State forward John Sisti managed to net one to secure the win for the Buckeyes 4-3.
Saturday
Ohio opened game two looking like a force to be reckoned with after its fall to the Buckeyes the previous day. Back in action for the team was Nikalas Jozefiak. After a hard hit the previous week that saw him taken off the ice in the first period, he made sure to make a statement against the Buckeyes by putting up two of Ohio’s four goals.
Both teams were hot on the ice in the first minutes of the period but it was not until there was 13:38 to go when the first goal of the game was scored by forward Nick Ventura for the Bobcats. The Buckeyes were not as quick to answer back, but eventually, Sam Gaffney put up a goal for the team with 6:12 to go in the first.
Jozefiak had a clean breakaway going for him with less than five in the first period, but it was stopped by Ohio State goalie Brandon Novabilski, who put up another two big stops to keep the score to 1-1.
Despite the period being almost over, with 0.09 left, Ohio defenseman Tyler Walker got into it with an Ohio State player to bring out the first penalties of the game, which would eventually carry over to the start of the second period.
The Bobcats wasted little time as Ethan Tamborski took back-to-back shots on goal at the start of the second period, neither of which resulted in a goal for Ohio. However, tensions between the rival teams proved to be building as both teams went after each other following an Ohio State player being shoved with 12:02 to go.
Ohio State took advantage of Ohio’s lacking defense after the teams were back to full strength following a penalty and put up a second goal of the night, giving the Buckeyes more momentum for the evening.
Ohio goalie James Saber had two big stops in the final minutes of the second period, but the tension of the night took a turn as winger Nic Capuzzi got into it with several Ohio State players with 3:07 left on the clock. The fight saw Capuzzi and fellow teammate Holden Wipula ejected from the ice along with Ohio State players Sisti and Anthony Cerbone.
The third period was not lacking in action as a big hit from defenseman Vinny Rengal took down Ohio State’s Alex Fulfaro in the first minutes.
Knowing it was his time to shine, Jozefiak put up his first goal of the night to tie the game 2-2 after a pass from Tamborski. To follow it up, he scored again only three minutes later on a rebound from the Ohio State goalie.
Having gotten itself back together after being down for two periods, Ohio sealed the deal with a goal from Rengal to make it 4-2, a lead that would be too big to overcome for Ohio State.
Following a big celebration for the seniors, Ohio still has one game left this weekend and will take on Dayton in an afternoon matchup Sunday, hoping to improve its record further as the playoffs grow closer.
