Ohio swept Iowa State in dominating fashion over the weekend, going 4-0 against the Cyclones this season.
With Ohio leading 5-0 late in Saturday night’s thrashing of No. 7 Iowa State (16-3-5), the No. 10 Bobcats headed to the power play with just under four minutes left.
With senior captain Michael Harris back in the lineup, Ohio perfectly executed a trick play that involved a pass between the legs of freshman defenseman Trent Johnson and the eventual one-timer from Harris to the back of the net.
The game was no longer in doubt, but the Bobcats (18-3-1) won with some style points and sent a message in the process, sweeping the season series against the Cyclones during Saturday's 6-0 win.
“We’re just like, ‘Oh boy, can’t wait for this one,' ” Harris said of the play. “Just 'grip it and rip it.’ It’s just a little trick play, and it’s worked twice now.”
How sweep it is
With the chance to sweep the season series over CSCHL rival, and top 10 opponent Iowa State, the Bobcats didn’t give the Cyclones an inch Saturday.
Ohio put Iowa State away by scoring six goals, including four on the penalty kill and power play, along with a statistically perfect performance from junior goalie Aaron Alkema.
Alkema, as he did in the first series against Iowa State, pitched a shutout in the finale of the series, pushing his record to 4-0 on the season against the Cyclones.
“I don’t know if it’s anything about the second game, maybe just getting a little bit more in a rhythm,” Alkema said. “We love playing Iowa State. It’s a big rivalry game, and we just get up for that playing these guys.”
Alkema is now 12-2 on the season, with a 1.77 goals against average.
The Bobcats believe they showed their case of why they’re a top tier team Saturday, getting the sweep in near dominating fashion.
“Obviously we’re not very happy with the rankings and how they are right now, but they’re a CSCHL opponent, and any CSCHL team can beat anyone on any night, so we have to come in and just play our game,” Harris said. “That’s what happens when we play Bobcats' hockey.”
The night before
Ohio overcame Iowa State the night before, beating the Cyclones 5-3 in Bird Arena.
With Harris serving his one-game suspension due to a fight against Robert Morris, the scoring depth for the Bobcats showed Friday night to compensate for the leading scorer being out of the lineup.
Ohio answered the bell without its leader, getting contributions all over the lineup sheet.
“Our team is so deep, even guys that don’t play in the lineup can go somewhere else and be top line players,” senior forward Diego Breckenridge said. “It’s just good for our team’s confidence that anyone can play on any given night and put the team on their back.”
The Bobcats would jump out to a 4-0 lead early in the third period and hang on to defeat the Cyclones after they scored three goals in the third.
“It shows that we’re a deep team and that we can win with guys like Harris and Jake (Faiella),” Hogan said. “Jake is a huge component on our back end.”
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