Coming off a dominant home series against Stony Brook and riding a five-game winning streak, Ohio looks for another successful home series as it plays Niagara University.
Here is what you can look forward to for the two-game series.
Series information
Opponent: Niagara University (15-7)
Location: Bird Ice Arena (Athens, OH)
Time: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Ohio notes
Ohio has been on an absolute tear since the doors to Bird Ice Arena opened on Jan. 10. The Bobcats have won their last five games in a row and find themselves on the verge of a potential seventh straight win and third straight series sweep.
In its last series, Ohio swept Stony Brook, outscoring its opponent 11-3 in the two games. Over the past couple of weeks, Ohio has been playing the best it has all season. However, its goaltending has been stealing the show, especially in game one against Stony Brook, with Garrett Alderman’s 36-save shutout. Expect Ohio to play with confidence on both ends of the ice as the weekend nears.
Niagara notes
Unlike Ohio, Niagara has been struggling lately and would like to avoid being swept by Liberty for the second weekend in a row. Over the past weekend, Niagara was swept by Liberty, with game one ending 2-1 and game two ending 5-3.
Despite pestering Liberty’s goaltender with 30-plus shots in both games, Niagara could not tally enough on the score sheet to avoid the sweep and will enter its series with Ohio. However, despite being swept against Liberty, Niagara is still having an overall successful season with a 15-7 record. With a goal differential of +42, Niagara has an elite offense that can score in bunches and can make any lead feel unsurmountable. Niagara also has an elite penalty kill, which held Liberty’s offense to just one man-advantage goal in eight attempts in the two-game series.
Player to watch (Ohio): Garrett Alderman (No. 31)
Despite being swept by Liberty, Niagara shot the puck 30-plus times in both games, meaning their offense can get shot on net in bunches. When a team is known to shoot the puck in large quantities, opposing goaltending faces more pressure to make critical saves.
However, Ohio’s goaltending over the past few series has been exceptional, and the play from Garrett Alderman is no different. With six wins, a 0.932 save percentage, and a 1.92 goals-against average on the season, Alderman has been incredible all season.
Player to watch (Niagara): Brady McEwan (No. 39)
Highlighting Goaltending is a common theme this week for the player to watch on the Niagara side is their number one goaltender, Brady McEwan. In his thirteen starts, he has seven wins with a 0.932 save percentage, a 2.07 goals-against average, and a pair of shutout victories. In his last game, game one against Liberty, he recorded 26 saves on 28 shots.