Sports
Drake Albers’ four goal effort leads Bobcats to the series sweep over Mountaineers
By: Ella Hughes
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB)– Bird Ice Arena had another sold-out crowd for a Saturday night showdown between the Ohio Bobcats and West Virginia Mountaineers. The Bobcats looked to continue their momentum from their 6-1 win last night and they did just that. Sophomore forward Drake Albers led his team to a dominating 9-0 win with his five-point night.
The first period started fast and physical, with both teams fighting for possessions in all zones. Just a minute and eleven seconds into the game Luc Reeve found the back of the net with some help from Laker Alderidge and Drake Albers.
Ohio was dominating both ends of the ice and was able to spend a majority of the first period in the Mountaineer zone. Albers capitalized on the opportunity and sent the puck top shelf over WVU goalie Kyle Fotopoulos’ shoulder to make it 2-0 Bobcats.
The physical effort was present from both teams. It was a battle in the neutral zone with bodies hitting the ice left and right. Hollander Thompson from Reeve kept the scoring train moving with five minutes left in the first. The scoring did not stop there as Albers made it 4-0 Cats heading into the intermission.
Hoping to find some offense after a disappointing first, the Mountaineers were awarded with power play early in the second. However, that hope was short lived as Albers sent one past Fotopoulos for a shorthanded goal and his third of the night, 5-0.
Junior Scott Bird stood tall in the Ohio net fending off the few shots that WVU were able to get off. The Bobcats were playing connected and smart hockey keeping the puck away from high danger areas.
Ohio could not stop scoring. Reeve, with the tip off Alderidge’s shot, gave the Bobcats a six-goal lead. Unfortunately, for the Mountaineers they did not stop there. If Albers was not enjoying his night already, he lit the lamp for the fourth time tonight making it 7-0 heading into the second intermission.
The Bobcats continued right where they left off in the second, forward Kevin Kasper had a beautiful move to extend their lead to eight. Fotopoulos was being hung out to dry and if his night couldn’t get any worse Mathieu Ovaert netted the ninth goal of the night for Ohio.
If it was possible, the third period was even more aggressive and physical than the first. All night Ohio had played with an edge and WVU was attempting to match the energy. Ultimately the Mountaineers would fall short, and Bird would earn his shutout in the Bobcats 9-0 victory.
After sweeping the weekend series, Albers spoke about the energy the team had throughout the game, “That’s what championship teams do, they play the same way no matter what the score is for a full sixty minutes. And us doing that we all stuck to our systems, we treated it like it was zero-zero the whole game and played the right way.”
Ohio looks to extend its win streak to three next weekend when Stony Brook comes to town for Kid’s Night at Bird on Friday, Jan. 24 with puck drop at 7 p.m.