Timmy Thurnau poked the puck loose in Stony Brook’s defensive zone.
An exhausted Drew Magyar mustered enough energy to sprint to the net before sending the puck across the crease to Thurnau, waiting on the other side.
The shot was good.
Ohio players poured off the bench and mobbed Thurnau near the left-wing circle.
“I saw the opportunity and I just poked it to Mags,” Thurnau said. “He made a nice pass, and that opened it up for me.”
The Bobcats had finally broken their Friday curse with a 4-3 win in overtime against Stony Brook. For the first time in three weeks, Ohio won the first game of a series.
Magyar, who celebrated his 21st birthday Friday, refused to waste the little time the Bobcats had left. Even though he was hurting after taking a hit in the corner, the sophomore forward wanted the win as a birthday celebration, even if he didn’t score the winning goal.
“It would’ve been nice to grab the game winner,” Magyar said. “But Timmy was there, and I knew that the win was more important than my individual stats. Timmy had a better chance to bury it. It’s weird having a game on your birthday, but the win more than made up for it.”
Ohio is 1-3 in shootouts this season. If Magyar hadn’t pushed through to meet Thurnau, the Bobcats might have found themselves in a situation they rarely win.
Now that February is here, Ohio (18-8-3) is weeks away from the CSCHL and ACHA tournaments. Coach Cole Bell has made it clear that this month is the time to kick it into high gear.
“Even though we’re still in the regular season this is playoff hockey,” Bell said. “We have to be strong in the defensive zone and we can’t give up free chances.”
Although the Seawolves (16-8-1) managed to tie the game late in the third period, their goals came after Ohio had a player sent to either the locker room or the penalty box. Two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from Tyler Harkins and Jake Houston kept the Seawolves in the game.
The Bobcats refused to lose another Friday night. Both Stony Brook and Ohio hit hard and wanted to keep the other down. When overtime came, Ohio was dead tired. Bell said it came down to whoever wanted it most.
“We just had to dig deep and go the extra mile,” Bell said. “We knew Stony Brook was going to come out hard. During that last rush Mags and Timmy had been out there for awhile working hard. Good job on them bearing down and getting the job done.
Despite the few slips, Friday is a net positive for the Bobcats. Stony Brook was ranked No. 7 in the ACHA going into Friday. Ohio managed to beat them on a Friday, a day that Ohio hadn’t won on since their second series against Illinois.
“We’re going to start a new Friday tradition,” Bell said. “We’re going to start winning games.”
