Ohio’s frustrations continued Tuesday evening at Bird Arena when it lost to Robert Morris-Pennsylvania 6-2.
The game looked sloppy on both sides, which was to be expected given that the game was officially scheduled only a day in advance. The Colonials (3-0) ended up being the team to get past the unorthodox conditions and come through with a win. The Bobcats (1-12), however, have started their week with a disappointing result.
Here are three takeaways from Ohio’s seventh straight loss:
Shots aren’t everything
For the first time this season, Ohio outshot its opponent. The Bobcats had 36 shots, and the Colonials only had 17. That didn’t matter much. Ohio managed only two goals all game, whereas Robert Morris scored on over one-third of its shots.
Prior to this loss, the lack of shots appeared to be one of the reasons why the Bobcats failed to put their opponents away. After Tuesday, Ohio coach Cole Bell might have a lot more to go over with his offense.
Power-play trouble
While Ohio’s offense didn’t look too bad when it had power plays, there was still a penalty problem for the Bobcats.
Ohio put itself in the box many times against Robert Morris, and the Colonials scored on four power plays, including once during 5-on-3 play. While it was far from the deciding factor of the game, the Bobcats may have had more of a chance if they stayed out of the box more.
New face, familiar problems
Robert Morris is the only opponent besides Liberty, Lindenwood and Adrian that Ohio has met this season. Tuesday night had a chance at being a nice change of pace for the Bobcats.
While some problems, such as the shot differences, seemed to be improved upon, Ohio’s offensive and defensive struggles continued to show up. The game against the Colonials was one, on paper, the Bobcats had a shot at winning. Instead, Ohio was reminded there is no such thing as an easy game.
The Bobcats will only have two days to prepare for a two-game series against Lindenwood (12-0), a team that already beat them twice earlier this season.
