Sports
Ohio Hockey Faces Top-Ten Opponent
By: Robbie Dipaola
Posted on:
This weekend will be the first big test for Ohio as they welcome in the 8th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes to Bird Arena for what looks to be a high intensity series.
With Ohio’s first four games against lesser opponents, they were able to work on areas that may cause the team trouble when it comes to these tougher matchups against top ranked teams such as Colorado.
Head coach Sean Hogan was not happy with the fact that his team took too many penalties against Kent State last Saturday and put themselves in unnecessary situations. Hogan stated that if they commit these unnecessary penalties against Colorado, they could prove to be costly this weekend.
“We can’t win if we keep putting ourselves in the box, Hogan said. “We did a good job on the penalty kill but we can’t keep putting ourselves in those types of situations.”
Colorado is an excellent offensive team as they have outscored their opponents 38-12 through six games this season. Hogan knows that his team will have to limit the offensive chances for Colorado in order to have success this weekend.
“We have to make sure that we limit their opportunities and stay out of the penalty box and that we don’t turn the puck over,” Hogan said.
A fast start is key for the Bobcats this weekend, especially Friday night, because Colorado could face fatigue since they played last night at Lindenwood before making the trip to Athens.
However, junior forward Mike Palasics knows that just because Colorado could be tired does not mean Ohio can lay off their attack in the early going.
“Regardless, when (Colorado) comes out we have to jump on top of them because they will be tired from traveling so we just have to jump on them right away and gain the upper hand,” Palasics said.
In big games such as these two against Colorado, both Hogan and Palasics stated that it is a good thing to have a good amount of upperclassmen on the team that have been in these situations before. If the team does happen to get down early, they will not panic because the seniors can bring a calming presence to the group.
“It’s good we have veterans at both the forward and defenseman spots,” Palasics said. “So (the seniors) are always there for the new guys if they are a little nervous or just questioning something so it’s definitely good to have.”
Though the freshman are relatively new to Bobcats hockey, Hogan is still expecting big things from them and envisages each freshman competing for spots in the lineup every night throughout the season.
“At the end of the day my job is to make sure I put the best 21 out on the ice,” Hogan said. “Whether you are a freshman or a senior our main focus is on that 60 minutes and we have to make sure we put the best guys out there that we can.”
The puck drops for both games at 7:30 p.m.