Sports
Ohio Hockey Cruises to 6-0 Victory in Season Opener
By: Robbie Dipaola
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Behind a stellar performance from goaltender Jimmy Thomas in goal and two goals from Tyler Harkins, the No. 2 ranked Ohio Bobcats cruised to a 6-0 victory over the John Carroll Blue Streaks in their home opener on Friday night at Bird Arena.
Ohio took a bit of time to get into their normal style of play, and for nearly the first 14 minutes the Bobcats and Blue Streaks remained tied 0-0. Senior captain Jake Faiella broke the scoreless draw when he ripped a shot from the top of the zone past the JCU goaltender Charlie Denner.
However, that was the only goal that the Bobcats would score in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Blue Streaks kept the No. 2 team in check for the majority of the period.
“We were going 100 miles per hour and guys were just shaky, it was the first game,” Hogan said. “In the second period, we started playing our game.”
The Bobcats penalty kill passed their early tests in the first 20 minutes as they faced and successfully killed off three penalties.
Whatever head coach Sean Hogan told the team during the first intermission worked wonders because in the second period Ohio dominated every facet of the game.
“I told [the team] to calm down and to breathe, and they came out in that second period and played better.”
Ohio’s offense outshot John Carroll 29-3 in the second period and cashed in four of those shots to extend the lead to 5-0. Harkins lit the lamp twice in the period and said it was a good feeling to get on the score sheet in the first game.
“Wherever coach plays me I’ll play,” Harkins said. “We are a deep team so I think whoever I am with will help me get some point production but as long as the team is winning that’s what matters.”
Seemingly overwhelmed, the Blue Streaks attempted to turn up the physicality, which the Bobcats had no problem matching. However, things turned chippy and a scuffle broke out near the Ohio net after the whistle. Both sides had to be separated by the officials.
The message from coach Hogan to the team was to stay calm and collected when a team, such a John Carroll did, tries to throw the Bobcats off their game by bringing extra physicality.
“It is just about staying level-headed,” Harkins said. “Our coach preaches it and says don’t let [the physicality] get the best of you and that is why I think we are a top team because we can overlook that stuff and we’re not a team that will retaliate all the time and I think that gives us an edge.”
As a result of the scuffle that broke out, Ohio’s Grant Hazel was sent off the ice with a 10-minute misconduct penalty. The Bobcats would be without one of their best defenseman for a lengthy period of time.
“When you’re 18-23 years old and a guy is jabbing you, your first instinct is to jab back,” Hogan said. “So we need to continue to work on being disciplined and being hard to play against, but it is going to be a learning process for sure.”
With the game already in hand entering the third period, Ohio looked to simply complete a solid night of all-around good hockey in the final 20 minutes. Midway through the period the ‘Cats added their sixth goal of the evening, as Matt Rudin cashed in his first goal of the season.
The final 10-plus minutes went by without much incident and the Bobcats cruised to their first victory of this brand new season. Thomas picked up right where he left off last season, recording a shutout against the Blue Streaks. Hogan credited Thomas postgame and said he really bailed the team out a lot throughout the game by making some timely saves.
Overall, Hogan was happy with the way his team played in their first game but sees room for improvement going forward.
“I like where we are going,” Hogan said. “But we have to do it again tomorrow night and take things one game at a time.”