With most of the Bobcats’ games played Fridays and Saturdays, it was unexpected when they suddenly scheduled a Tuesday afternoon game. When Ohio took the ice, not only did the time feel off but so did the Bobcats’ play.
Ohio lost 6-2 to Robert Morris on Tuesday, dropping its seventh straight game.
The Bobcats (1-12) scored several minutes into the first period to initially take the lead, but from that point on, the game was incredibly sloppy.
While only scoring two goals on 36 shots on net, the Bobcats allowed six goals from just 17 shots on net by the Colonials (3-0). Assistant coach Lionel Mauron said along with slowing down as the game went on, his team “took stupid penalties, and that was costly.”
“The first few minutes were pretty good, and then we started playing the way the other team was, and we slowed down, and we picked up bad habits,” Mauron said.
Goalie Max Karlenzig was pulled midway through the third period and replaced by Matt Server after allowing all six goals.
While the Bobcats struggled defensively, Mauron put emphasis on their struggles on special teams, adding they need to be more disciplined.
“I think a lot of it was special teams tonight. A lot of goals we gave up were 5-on-4, 5-on-3. We’ve got to stay out of the box. We’ve got to be more disciplined,” Mauron said. “And that means that we’ve got to start moving our legs more, make smarter plays, instead of just taking penalties because we want to take shortcuts.”
Mauron said even if the weird timing of the suddenly added game threw off the players, they still have to be ready to show up.
“We said it from the first day: we were gonna try and play as many games as possible. We want these guys to play games, not practice all the time,” Mauron said. “And we had to be ready to show up. There should be no excuses for it, and we gotta do a better job.”
Ohio will have less time than usual now to prepare for its next game. The Bobcats take on Lindenwood on Friday and Saturday, a team they haven’t faced in over a month but who is now 12-0 this season.
“I think the big lesson is that there are no easy games in college hockey,” Mauron said. “We’ve got to show up every night, no matter who we’re playing. Right now, we have a quick turnaround. We’re playing Friday against a really good team, and we’ve got to find a way to create some positive energy and go back in there and get to work.”
