Sports
Bloomfield Leads Bobcats in Win over Pitt
By: Alex Harrison
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Ohio defeated Pitt 4-1 Friday thanks to an outstanding performance in goal from Jacob Bloomfield.
Pitt was up in the first period and started hitting hard. The Pitt bench would celebrate big hits and many were coming. Celebrations stopped when the Bobcats began taking advantage of the power plays and putting goals into the net.
Ohio and Pitt were playing four-on-four hockey when Pitt’s Anthony Mauro was penalized for a cross-check. Ten seconds later, with a four-on-three advantage, Ohio’s Reilly Moore tied everything up at 1-1.
The first period was wrapping up with both teams still tied, but the Bobcats were on power play. Not wasting an opportunity, Jake Faiella scored with only 7.4 seconds remaining until the horn. Two goals were all Ohio would need.
The Bobcats added two more goals in the game, but Bloomfield was stellar in net and wouldn’t need the extra goals. This was only the fourth start for Bloomfield and the first since the middle of December.
“I thought he did great,” Coach Sean Hogan said of his goalie Bloomfield. “He gave us a chance to win. He stopped some breakaways. We had some defenses lapses where Pitt had some good chances and Jake gave us a chance to win it.”
Bloomfield gave up the early goal but settled in stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced. A feat given extra significance given Bloomfield didn’t know he would be starting until Saturday morning.
“Not until this morning, honestly. I had a hunch Friday. [Coach] Hogan told me the plan was for me to play one of the games, but it was confirmed until this morning around 11:30,” said Bloomfield.
With the 4-1 win, Ohio got the weekend sweep over Pitt. Ohio defeated Pitt on Friday night, also a 4-1 victory. The sweep gives Ohio some relief following the Arizona road trip where the Bobcats lost all three games.
“It was huge, definitely. I mean, we knew it’d be a challenge coming off the trip for [Arizona State],” said Bloomfield. “We definitely could feel it all week emotionally and physically all week. To bounce back and get two pretty dominating wins against that team is huge for us.”
Ohio (25-7-1) will take on Illinois at Bird Arena for its final home series of the season. Following the Illinois series, Ohio will play at Robert Morris for the final series before playoffs begin.