Coach Sean Hogan slammed the back glass of the Ohio bench.
The frustration was clear. The Bobcats were in the middle of a power play. It was one of five they didn’t convert on in their 3-0 loss to No. 1 Lindenwood on Saturday at Bird Arena.
Ohio missed a lot of chances throughout the night. The team’s frustration with itself was evident, especially on what might have been its worst game of the year.
“I’ve been involved in coaching for 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff. I’ve seen way worse than this,” Hogan said. “In time here, this was one of the worse.”
Ohio’s frustration showed all night, with all the tension coming to a head in the second period. The Bobcats were already down two goals, and a Zach Frank shot had been denied by the Lions’ goalie, Cooper Seedott.
Then, punches were thrown. Not just near the net where the skirmish started, but it carried up the ice. After the fight, two Ohio skaters — Alex Singley and Grant Hazel — and a Lindenwood skater received game disqualifications for fighting.
Seven minutes later, another scrum broke out, this time, near the Ohio goal. Gianni Evangelisti took a game misconduct, which took him out for the rest of the game, too.
In the third period, Tom Pokorney picked up a misconduct for spearing. Bryan Lubin got one for boarding. That left Ohio with nine forwards and five defenseman left. Not a great recipe for success down three goals.
Even with the chips not in the Bobcats’ favor, there was still a chance. There was always a feeling that Ohio could start coming back. Lindenwood wasn’t playing a clean game, either. Just every time there was a chance for Ohio, it ended up giving it up.
“It was bad,” Hogan said, one of just four or five times he said that after the game.
Hogan’s frustration differed throughout the game. In the first period, he thought there was a lack of effort from his team.
“I felt that we were intimidated by them,” Hogan said. “We weren’t getting pucks, we were a little timid on the forecheck. That’s not what I want, I lit into them after the first.”
Then, in the second period, came the fighting. The first one showed some life for Ohio, but the rest wasn’t needed, Hogan said. The third period was much of the same.
The common thread through all of that? Frustration leading to opportunities for Lindenwood, leading to goals. All three of the Lions’ goals came on the power play.
Despite the struggles on the night, a loss in regulation and an overtime loss — a tie in the American Collegiate Hockey Association — to the No. 1 team in the country isn’t a bad weekend.
Ohio has two more series left in the Fall Semester, both in Central States Collegiate Hockey League. After taking one point against Lindenwood, the Bobcats will look to climb the valley they fell into this weekend. After winter break, they travel to play the Lions. They’re already relishing that chance.
“They came here and took two from us,” Shawn Baird said. “It’s only right we go and take two from them.”
