Garrett Jenkins slid in front of Eastern Michigan’s goalie alone. He was eyeing up a shot from defenseman Jake Houston at the blue line and seeking an opportunity to bring the Bobcats back even with the Eagles, who were up 1-0.
Houston’s shot was perfect — quick, on target and just a few inches off the ice. Jenkins chopped at the puck, and it bounced down and under the arm of Kevin O’Shea, the Eagles’ goalie, to tie the game. Jenkins lifted his arms in celebration Friday as the Bird Arena crowd erupted.
Lucky? Sure, but Jenkins doesn’t care.
“It just happened to bounce over the goalie’s pads,” Jenkins said with a smile.
Jenkins’ goal in Ohio’s 6-1 win over Eastern Michigan was his fourth of the season and tied his career high set as a freshman. He had just two goals in 2017-18 and was last on the team with five points in 31 games.
He never had lucky sequences like his goal on Friday in 2017-18: he went the first 25 games last season without recording a single point. Streaks like those don’t happen without bad luck. A lot of bad luck.
“It was just a weird year, sophomore year,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins was also plagued with injuries to his ankle and head that forced him to miss six games at the beginning of the season. He never settled in and was often buried at the bottom of Ohio’s forward lineup, led by a team-leading 47 points from Gianni Evangelisti and 23 points from Timmy Thurnau.
Jenkins is now on a line with both of them. It may have seemed like an odd trio at first, but it’s working. Jenkins has already matched his career-high in points from last season (five), and Evangelisti and Thurnau have combined for 17 points in five games.
“I love playing with (Gianni),” Jenkins said. “And Timmy’s a great player. He thinks great with the puck, bangs bodies and has a hard shot.”
Coach Sean Hogan isn’t surprised at Jenkins’ big leap to begin the season. Hogan has a knack for coaching players to breakout in their junior year. Jenkins, a junior, is on pace to smash career highs in nearly every category in 2018-19.
Hogan said that Jenkins still hasn’t reached the “next level” that most juniors reach, but he’s close.
“He made some really nice passing plays today,” Hogan said. “He’s been great. He’s playing with some high-end guys and he’s contributing and creating things. He’s getting better every day.”
Luck has also finally found Jenkins. The Bobcats (5-0) have only been in a deficit twice this season — Friday against Eastern Michigan (0-6) and Sept. 29 against John Carroll. Both games ended in a lopsided Ohio win, but Jenkins scored the game-tying goal in each situation.
It’s a small stat that’s been buried among the 48 other goals Ohio has scored, but those two goals have arguably been Ohio’s most important goals this season.
“Yeah, I guess (they are) so far,” Jenkins said with a chuckle. “It’s hard to judge when we’re smacking these teams around.”
