Hockey games are 60 minutes long, but for the Bobcats, 15 seconds made all the difference.
Behind the strength of two third-period goals in a quarter of a minute, No. 2 Davenport defeated No. 3 Ohio 4-2 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Tournament semifinals last night.
For the Bobcats, it was the second consecutive ACHA semifinals loss.
“I thought we played well,” coach Dan Morris said. “We had a lot of good chances but just couldn’t connect. I don’t think we made very many mistakes, but they were able to capitalize on the few mistakes that we did make.”
Ohio dominated the first period outshooting the Panthers 10-3. A Billy Hemann goal gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead at the end of the opening 20 minutes.
The second period, however, was a different story. A Steve Osacky penalty midway through the period led to a power play goal by Davenport’s Sean McWhorter.
The Panthers outshot the Bobcats 9-5 in the second period.
“I don’t think they had a tough game yet in the tournament, so we took advantage of that early on,” coach Dan Morris said. “But in the second period, we took a couple penalties, and they got the power play goal, and that shifted momentum to their favor."
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the third, Davenport broke the tie with a goal over the right shoulder of Ohio goaltender Blake MacNicol. MacNicol was screened on the play.
Just 15 seconds later, Davenport again found the back of the net with what would be the game-winner.
Down two goals, the Bobcats intensified their attack. Two consecutive Davenport penalties led to a 5-3 advantage for Ohio with just under four minutes remaining.
Michael Schultz added a power play goal to bring the Bobcats within one, but Ohio would get no closer. An empty-net goal sealed the 4-2 Davenport win.
The Bobcats outshot the Panthers 14-6 in the third, but Ohio could not capitalize on many good opportunities.
Except for Schultz’s late goal, the Bobcats struggled on the power play failing to convert on their first five attempts.
“They’re good penalty killers,” Morris said. “We hung onto the puck too long. They do a good job of blocking shots and clogging up the middle.”
Despite outshooting the Panthers, many of Ohio’s shots came from the outside, making for a lot of easy saves.
The Bobcats played the game without their captain Mark Tracy, who was injured in the previous game against Oakland.
Morris said the team missed Tracy’s leadership.
“He’s the leader of the team. He was on the bench for the first period where he had stability, but on the ice we missed Mark big time,” Morris said.
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