Sports
Hockey: Ohio, Sheridan Pick Up First Victory
By: Nick Hart
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Jonathon Sheridan earned his first win as Ohio hockey’s head coach, as his Bobcats bounced back from an opening night loss to oust John Carroll, 2-1, in a shootout at Bird Arena on Saturday night.
Not only was the win a first for Sheridan, but freshman goaltender Ryan Heltion made 17 saves and stopped all three of John Carroll’s attempts in the shootout to get his first victory in his first career start for the Bobcats.
“I thought [Heltion] played great. You can’t ask for much more out of the kid,” Sheridan said. “He’s got the first shootout out of the way now, and that’s awesome. I’m really happy for him.”
While Heltion got the win, Blue Streaks’ goalie Justin Camuto stole the show over the weekend. Camuto made 32 saves on Saturday to go along with the 47 saves he racked up the night before. In his two starts, Camuto posted a .940 save percentage, and his 79 totals saves is the highest in the country for American Collegiate Hockey Association goalies with two games played.
“The kid’s amazing,” Sheridan said of Camuto after the game. “He faced almost 85 shots in one weekend. That’s pretty ballsy by the kid.”
Ohio senior forward Brett Agnew spoiled Camuto’s bid for a second straight win when he ripped a wrist shot past Camuto’s glove hand and right inside the post during the game-deciding shootout. Agnew’s goal was the lone score for both teams during the shootout.
Joe Breslin, a freshman forward for the Bobcats, scored the game’s first goal at 11:24 of the first period when he carried the puck from his own blue line, through multiple Blue Streak defenders, earned himself a breakaway and finished with a backhand-forehand deke around Camuto. The goal was Breslin’s second goal and fourth point of the season.
Freshman Kevin Vinyard had John Carroll’s lone tally, which was his third goal in two games.
The rest of the game remained scoreless, due in large part to Ohio’s improved penalty kill, which hit the ice three different times after Vinyard’s tying goal. The Bobcats went 5-for-5 on the kill in the game, up from their 2-for-4 performance on Friday against the Blue Streaks.
Ohio’s next game is Friday, Sept. 27, against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bird Arena. It will be the team’s only game that weekend, as it is not a part of a multiple-game series with the Mountaineers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.