For every team in every sport, there is an inevitable sequence of games in which a rough patch is hit.
And that may be the case for the Ohio hockey team.
No. 4 Ohio (23-7-2) split a weekend series against No. 20 Illinois this weekend, as the Bobcats won the first game before dropping the second, and coach Jonathon Sheridan was disappointed with his team’s performances.
“That’s not how we were supposed to play,” Sheridan said following game two. “That’s not how we handle ourselves out there. If we win or lose, we don’t do what we did at the end there. It’s pretty frustrating, especially from the guys that did it, so I’m not very happy.”
On Friday, both teams racked up significant penalty minutes, which were results of physicality and frustration. In fact, two Illinois power plays in the third period resulted in goals for the Illini, before they sealed the win with 7:05 remaining in the game.
In a rare occurrence, the Bobcats were outshot by the Illini 35-32 on Saturday. For the weekend, Illinois came ready to play and seemed to outplay Ohio as a whole.
“They’re a very good team, a hard-working team,” said Sheridan. “They’re not going to flash you, they’re just going to get pucks to the net, and that’s what I wanted to do… and our guys were reluctant to do that.”
For the first time in eight games, regular Ohio goaltender Aaron Alkema was given an off day for game two, and backup Scott Boyd got the nod. Boyd stopped 31 of 35 Illinois shots.
“(Illinois) did come out strong … I talked to (coach Nick Fabbrini) and he’s very proud of his guys,” Sheridan said. “We’ve generally been a good team, so anytime you get a chance to beat a good team, you want to do it. And that’s what they did. They stepped it up this weekend, and we didn’t.”
Also turning in a solid performance for Ohio was forward Logan Pfeffer, who registered two goals and a total of three points in Saturday’s game alone. Forwards Patrick Spellacy and Brett Agnew also finished with two points apiece for the weekend.
@kelsey_surmacz4
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