Ohio (16-3) is no stranger to Niagara’s (19-9) level of play. Last season, the Bobcats had a crushing loss and a sweeping series victory against the Purple Eagles, a testament to both teams’ abilities on either side of the puck. Friday night’s game provided a bit of deja vu as the Bobcats skated by with a 4-3 overtime victory, just as they did on last year’s Military Appreciation Night.
Ohio coach Barry Schutte said despite some struggles with transitions and bounces in the early periods, the Bobcats were able to break through Niagara’s nearly steadfast defense.
“I thought in the first 40 minutes we were disconnected– we weren’t as engaged with all five of our players,“ Schutte said. "I thought that was the biggest difference going into the third period; we weren’t getting outnumbered. … We had everyone involved, and it paid the difference in the end.”
After three goals from Noah Holt, Hollander Thompson and Spencer Schons, respectively, the Bobcats were barely hanging on to their one-score lead. Schutte knew this was going to be a moment that was no less than intense and that Ohio would have to batten down the hatches mentally.
“The challenge going into the third period was how do we go from good to great and ask a little more from ourselves,” Schutte said.
Luc Reeve was also feeling the heat of the situation, especially since the Purple Eagles' goal was scored late in the third period. Luckily, he had his teammates to lift him up.
“A big part of it was our team… I felt like it was kind of my fault a bit,“ Reeve said. "I came off the ice with my head down a little bit. My teammates, especially Tommy (Kloepfer), came over my shoulder and snapped me out of it. He said '‘You’ve got one more goal in you.' I came out and scored in OT, and then he told me, 'I told you so,'” said Reeve.
Schutte said he wanted his team to be prepared for any situation that may arise during the 60 regulation minutes -- and however many may come after that. The Bobcats ran all possible play scenarios in practice- but physical preparedness wasn’t all they needed.
“Coach Schutte is really big on mental toughness, making sure that you’re good in any situation,” Reeve said. “I think repeating that day in, day out allowed us to, no matter what, be able to help each other and lift each other up to get through it.”
Ohio’s season only gets tougher from here on out, as they head into contested matchups against Liberty and Minot in the coming weeks. However, they’re currently fueling the flames of a 6 game win-streak, and spend plenty of time focusing on how to match up against their toughest opponents.
“We want to play winning hockey,“ Schutte said. “There are lots of details and little things that matter in order to put yourself on the right side of it, get pucks in when you need to, get pucks out when you need to, finish checks, play through bodies, and manage the game.”
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