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[Sully Beach | WOUB]

Bobcats dominate in season opener with 9-2 victory

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) The Ohio Bobcats returned to Bird Arena to face off against John Carroll for game two of the series. Ohio won 5-2 on Friday at Gilmour Academy Ice Arena and looked to repeat that.

The momentum certainly carried over in the Bobcats 9-2 victory Saturday night.

In the first period, most of the action came from the Bobcats. Freshman forward Christian Albertson found the back of the net and put Ohio on the board three minutes into the first period. Later in the first, forwards Nick Ventura and JT Schimizzi also scored.

Ohio racked up two penalties in the first period and John Carroll used this to its advantage. Joseph Primiano put John Carroll on the board with 6:43 remaining in the first.

The Bobcats were on top 3-1 at the end of the first period and continued to dominate in the second. Ohio had 20 shots on goal, while John Carroll only had four. The Bobcats were feeding off of momentum from the previous night and the crowd brought energy.

Ohio University Bobcat Laker Aldridge steps past Clayton Gazdak during their game against the John Carrol Blue Streaks at Bird Arena in Athens, Ohio, on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. [Alex Eicher | WOUB]
“Right when puck dropped it was packed, it was pretty exciting,” Albertson said. “With more people you always get a little bit more excited, and the energy gets up a little bit more than normally.”

The Bobcats carried that energy onto the ice by scoring anyway they could. Sam Turner shot the puck from the top of the offensive zone and scored, while Laker Aldridge wrapped the puck around the net and had a goal of his own.

Ohio led 5-2 going into the third period. The underclassmen helped the Bobcats continue racking up the score in the third pulling away with the victory.

“The freshman are doing a great job just coming in and being a breath of fresh air,” Mauron said. “The past couple years were difficult with COVID and not winning as many games.”

Despite the win, passing is still something the Bobcats need to work on.

“The skill we are lacking is making those hard-fought passes, but you know we only practiced for nine days, and we’ll get there,” Mauron said.

The Bobcats next game is on Sept. 30 against Alabama at Bird Arena at 7 p.m.