Although coach •Sean Hogan is injured, the team is healing up in preparation for Drexel.
After a morale-boosting sweep last weekend at Liberty, arguably the most important person on Ohio had to leave practice Tuesday due to an injury.
Only it wasn’t a player.
Coach Sean Hogan was injured when a pane of glass from the boards fell on his wrist, severing two tendons between his wrist and thumb. He said he visited a doctor Thursday to determine if surgery was necessary.
“I talked to (assistant coach Kyle Schussler), he said it was a real good practice — I obviously missed it,” Hogan said pointing to his bandaged wrist. “It’s the first practice I’ve ever missed as a coach that I can recall.”
For a coach who was hit in the head from banging glass by fans last weekend at Liberty, and now the broken glass incident at Bird Arena, Hogan has had a rough week.
Fortunately for the rest of the Bobcats (11-2-1), it appears their rough stretch is over.
Ohio will host Drexel (4-7-1) for an upcoming weekend set, surviving a month of continuous Central States teams ranked in the top 15.
“That month of October where we played all those teams (Iowa State, Lindenwood, Illinois, Liberty), we went 5-2-1 in that stretch, and this year, we’re 11-2-1,” Hogan said. “I think we’re definitely a top team, and a team that can attain some pretty special things, we just have to keep that momentum going forward.”
The Bobcats are making sure not to overlook the Dragons, who freshman defenseman Grant Hazel said will come in “pumped up.”
Drexel is coming off being swept by Lebanon Valley.
“They’re gonna be pretty tough to play against,” Hazel said. “We just have to make sure we’re playing our game.”
Hazel tallied his first goal as a Bobcat last weekend. Since starting the season playing just two of the first four games, he has since played in every single game since the West Virginia series on Oct. 2.
“It felt real good to finally score," Hazel said. "Harty (Matt Hartman) came right around the net and passed it to me, I had a pretty clear shot with a good screen."
Hogan said, even if he wasn’t there to enforce it Tuesday, he is making sure his team is prepared for a Dragons team prone to give the Bobcats some fits.
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“They’re typically pretty competitive, you can’t overlook them,” Hogan said. “You have to be ready every game, and that’s the message this week.”
Although the Bobcats are focused on upcoming Drexel, it doesn't mean they didn't have some fun during the week.
At the end of Tuesday’s practice, with Hogan sitting in the stands watching players trickle off the ice, he watched senior captain Michael Harris shoot a puck into the glass before leaving practice.
Hogan screamed, “Don’t break the glass!”
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