With Sib’s Weekend in full swing, Bird Arena was completely sold out and packed to the brim with Ohio fans and families Saturday night. Energy from the crowd reflected on the ice, with Ohio winning in a strong 2-0 game against Iowa.
Although it was a slow game in terms of scoring, there were incredible highlights to note as the regular season winds down. Ohio coach Lionel Mauron recognized the strong performance displayed defensively in the net.
“I thought we were committed to playing defense and we kept them to the outside,” Mauron said. “Scott (Bird) made all the saves that we could ask him to do and I think overall it was a pretty solid defensive performance.”
Sophomore goalie Scott Bird recorded a 2-0 shutout with 36 saves. This was Birds' first start since starting in net against Adrian in October.
“I’m really happy for him because he hasn’t played in a long time,” Mauron said. “We have competition in the net between four guys that are all very good. He got his chance and he took it, and you could tell it meant a lot to him.”
Bird, who was recognized as one of the stars of the game, was thrilled with the outcome and excited to be back on the ice.
“It’s a lot of words to describe,” Bird said. “I haven’t played in probably three months, so it means a lot to come back and come back in a big way.”
The night's first goal went to sophomore Jack Glen, who has been showing a solid performance in recent games. With Glen as another star of the night, Mauron recognized the strong game he played, highlighting him as a notable player in contributing to the win.
“Jack Glen is really hitting his peak right now, and he’s going to be a big piece moving forward, so we’re happy that his role is growing,” Mauron said.
Glen credited the team for the win, specifically with their cohesion and structure.
“I think not giving up on five-on-five goals is huge,” Glen said. “We got one power-play goal on the empty net tonight, so I think the five-on-five structure was really good tonight.”
Although Ohio swept the weekend, Iowa State gave a fierce competition, giving the Bobcats some challenges.
“We knew that they were going to be a good team,” Glen said. “I think they just really kind of clogged things up and took a lot of our offense away, which, credit to them. They’re a better team than their rank shows, and every game is a toss.”
Mauron is preparing for next weekend’s series against Liberty, knowing that it will be a tough matchup.
“We need to clean up our transition game going into Liberty next weekend because they’re a very strong team and playing that way, I think we’ll have issues,” Mauron said.
