Sports
Ohio Bobcats Hockey: Ohio Hands Undefeated Lindenwood First Loss of the Season
By: Jacob Murray
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The odds were stacked against the Ohio Bobcats this Friday night. Coming in with only one victory on the season, with the undefeated Lindenwood Lions coming into Bird Arena. They needed to be at their very best, and they rode the momentum that their goalie gave them, and they pulled off the upset with a 3-0 victory.
“It feels amazing,” goalie Max Karlenzig said after the victory. ”we’ve had a tough streak of games going for us and the boys really needed to bounce back, especially against the first place team in the league.”
Rocking the tuxedo style jersey’s, the Bobcats played with style on the defensive end, even if the final stats show they were outshot in the game 21-37. They held the Lions scoreless thanks in large part to freshman goalie Max Karlenzig
It was a defensive battle throughout the night, both sides were swatting the puck away throughout the first two periods, with both goalies not letting up. Then, lightning struck as sophomore Ryan Hastings connected on his first goal of the season, putting the Bobcats up 1-0.
“We get into the third period and get to ten minutes left and we kinda doubt ourselves,” Coach Cole Bell said. ”We didn’t let it phase us in the past we might have and today we just kept chugging along, staying positive.”
On top of gaining confidence in the third period, this team was riding the wave of momentum from their young goalie. Karlenzig is a freshman, but he played with the poise and confidence of an experienced player and the pressure didn’t leave him even after the Bobcats scored their first goal with 7:03 left in the third period.
“I felt way more pressure on me at that point,” Karlenzig said. ”I was feeling pretty nervous back there and I was thinking we really have a shot at winning this right now.”
Then, the Bobcats never looked back. On the back of junior Drew Magyar, who scored two goals in the last two minutes of the third period. Ohio had done it and their coach knew who helped them out most, the guy who shut out the Lions.
“Real happy for him he’s earned that one,” Coach Bell said. ”he has been rock solid all year and he has been a big part of our team.”
Confidence is something Coach Bell has wanted his squad to get all year and tonight might have been the best thing to happen, even during a so far two win season.
“This is huge for us. We got in some of these close games and lost some of the belief as we get down to the wire ,” Bell said. ”But tonight could be a big turning point and now that we know that we can do it, we have to try and continue to grow and push forward like we have all year.”
The Bobcats will play on Sunday against Lindenwood on the teams senior night starting at 5:00 pm.