Sports
Ohio Bobcats Hockey: No Mercy for Mercyhurst as Bobcats Pounce All Over Lakers Early
By: Jacob Murray
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — This Tuesday afternoon can be summed up in only the first period of this game alone. Only 26 seconds into the period, a goal by sophomore JT Schmizzi opened the scoring in the game. Then, only 34 seconds later, a second goal this time by Aiden Grieco made it 2-0, not even two minutes into the game.
The onslaught only continued from there. The Bobcats never let up, continuing to attack the opposing defense and outshooting the Mercyhurst Lakers 45-18. When the ice settled, it was a runaway Bobcat victory, their third of the season, taking it 11-0.
“We talked about wanting to come out and play this game the right way ,” Coach Cole Bell said. ”Keep building off that weekend against Lindenwood. We certainly came out and exceeded expectations today.”
The star of the afternoon for the Ohio Bobcats (3-13-0) had to go to junior Drew Magyar, as he pulled off the hat trick with three goals on the day. The team was still on his mind even after the game that he had just put together.
“I thought I played well, but the whole team was getting going right from the start,” Magyar said. ”I don’t think there was a single player on that ice that wasn’t playing to the best of their abilities and it was a total team effort.”
After a 7-0 first period, the rest of the game was all about keeping up the intensity and finding a way to hold on for their third dub on the year.
“It was just definitely important from the older guys to the younger guys to keep the mentality in the locker room stayed the same,” Magyar said. ”Even though we got a big lead, we have to keep our foot on the pedal because you never know how it (the game) can go.”
The Mercyhurst Lakers (8-13-1) had their chances, as they were unable to capitalize on their three power play chances, as they even allowed a goal during the final one of the afternoon. Coach Bell had nothing but praise for their program after this one.
“Mercyhurst played hard,” Coach Bell said. ”I think they have a bright future ahead of them and it will be exciting to see what they do.”
Also, a few younger faces got their first goals in their careers as Bobcats, with sophomore Zach Curry and freshman Alex Burnett each got one in the score column in their young careers. One of their upperclassman leaders, Drew Magyar reflected on how it feels when scoring the first goal of hopefully many more at Ohio University.
“It’s definitely a feeling you will never forget. It is something you will remember for the rest of your life,” Magyar said. ”It is such a confidence boost getting that monkey off your back and going from here.”
Even with the explosive offense, you can’t forget that freshman goalie Matt Server also had his first career shutout as well, and Coach Bell hopes that this can help the team as the end of the season draws closer.
“Time will tell what we take from this past weekend. I don’t want to sit here and tell you we have momentum,” Bell explained. ”We need to just live in the moment and take it one day, one practice at a time and go from there.”
Ohio will travel to play the Liberty Flames this Friday March 19th with the start time set for 7:00pm as they look to build off their recent success.