Despite losing a hard-fought game against Niagara, Ohio (16-4) is still red hot on offense and will be looking to bounce back strongly as it faces Liberty this weekend.
Here is what you can expect from both teams in the series.
Series information
Opponent: Liberty (18-9)
Time: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Location: Bird Ice Arena (Athens, Ohio)
History
Ohio lasted played Liberty in November in Lynchburg, Virginia. The series ended with the Bobcats winning 4-3 in game one, and 5-3 in game two, making it a series sweep for Ohio.
Ohio notes
Despite coming off a hard-fought 7-6 loss against Niagara, ending its six-game winning streak, Ohio has still played incredible hockey lately and will be looking to get back in the win column this weekend. Ohio’s last series against Liberty was a very successful end to Ohio’s long road trip to start the season.
The biggest reason Ohio achieved its series sweep of Liberty was its ability to kill Liberty’s power play chances. Despite taking a larger number of penalties in the series, Ohio held Liberty to just two power-play goals in the two games and held Liberty’s power-play to very few chances to score. If Ohio wishes to repeat history and beat Liberty again this weekend, they will need to step up on the penalty kill.
Liberty notes
Liberty will look to avoid being swept by Ohio for the second time this season. Liberty is coming off an impressive home sweep against Adrian College, with game one ending 3-1 and game two ending 4-2.
Hayden DeMars of Liberty scored three goals in the two-game series and played a significant role in the Flames’s earning a series sweep. But Liberty goaltender Konrad Kaush stole the spotlight in game two, saving 43 of the 45 shots he faced.
Player to watch (Liberty): Hayden DeMars
As mentioned previously, Hayden DeMars is coming off an impressive series against Adrian College and played a major role in Liberty being able to pull off a series sweep. But DeMars’s success is not something that can only be found over the last few games, but rather one that has been a common occurrence all season long. In his 22 games played, he has recorded 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points, putting him well over a point-per-game on the season.
Player to watch (Ohio): Gavin Keller
Coming off a multi-goal performance in game two against Niagara, Keller has three goals, three assists, and 6 points on the season in his 12 games played. Ohio’s roster is filled with players who look to keep the team successful and play major roles in the future, and one of those guys is Gavin Keller.
