Ohio (12-3) hosted West Virginia (10-11) Friday evening and continued its dominance, taking home a 6-1 win.
In their last outing, the Bobcats took a 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh. This play carried over against the Mountaineers as Bird Arena was treated to an exciting offensive showcase from the Bobcats.
“Athens is a passionate community on and off campus for Ohio Hockey and I love it,” Ohio coach Barry Schutte said. “It comes with a lot of emotion and it helps our guys harness that and use it to fuel the fire.”
The crowd lit the fire for the Bobcats as they attacked the goal and managed 20 shots in the first period, including two goals from Laker Aldridge and Jack Glenn. The defense also held up its end, holding the Mountaineers to just nine shots, all saved by senior goaltender Max Karlenzig. The first period ended with the Bobcats leading 2-0, with a 20-9 shots-on-goal advantage.
The second period was similar to the first with the Bobcats adding another goal from Nolan Abraham and continuing to hold possession for most of the period.
"If you dominate the puck, you score goals,” Abraham said.
Both teams engaged in a small scuffle at the end of the second period. Schutte told his team in the locker room, “Act like you’ve been there before act like a championship team, and just tighten up a bit.”
The Bobcats continued their aggressive play, holding the Mountaineers to just two shots on goal. The offense fired another 20 shots, and the second period ended with the Bobcats leading 3-0.
The team fully pulled away in the final period, adding three goals — Abraham and Glenn’s second goals and Thomas Kleopfer’s first. The Mountaineers fought until the end, breaking Karlenzig’s shutout with less than 15 seconds left in the game from Nicholas Gandy. The game resulted in a 6-1 win for the Bobcats.
"It’s been a long layoff for us so we’re still in a process,” Schutte said. “Every game is another to take a step forward, to get to our best versions of ourselves in March.”
On the defensive end, Karlenzig only allowed one goal, 18 shots and 17 saves. As for the offensive leaders, Glenn and Abraham combined four of the team’s six goals*.
“He’s (Abraham) an offensive player and can sniff out offensive opportunities off transition, and that was the case for both those he smelled the turnover, puck possession and took it the other way,” Schutte said. “When he has space, he’s going to score.”
