Fifth Flash duel awaits in tourney opener
Face time.
A term murmured by many Bobcats this season and a stage where they rarely fail to shine.
The team got its fair share of face time after the events of last year’s Central States Collegiate Hockey League Tournament final. Now, that face time is about to start again as a league bent on beating them steps into their yard.
For the past three seasons, Ohio has earned some form of the league title. The program hardly seems one year removed from a 4-0 stunner of Lindenwood to capture the tournament crown. Now, the defending tournament champions will host the league playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Like last season, Ohio will open the tournament with in-state and league-foe Kent State. Like last season, it will be the third straight game and fifth overall against them. Ohio began the season with a trifecta of games against another team that donned the blue and gold. Now, that is where the regular season ends… and the second season begins.
The Bobcats (23-11-1) took all four meetings against the Golden Flashes (16-20-1) this season. They’ve outscored KSU 27-4 along the way. The offensive onslaught has been spread through the three main KSU netminders. Ohio has hung 15 on Justin Wisniewski, seven on Zachary Nowak, and five on Evan Phenney.
In those four games, Jeremy Melbye, Andrew Gazdak, and Eric Frits have been the only KSU skaters to tally two points apiece. On Ohio’s side, Josh Fodor leads the way with eight points. Michael Shultz and Jay Mazzarella follow close behind with seven. The trio of Jared Fuhs, Jonathan Pietremala, and Brett Agnew has each picked up five each.
After the initial two-game sweep in Kent, the Flashes briefly rebounded. They rattled of three straight wins, hanging 6 goals in each contest. Since that third win, the offense has virtually stalled as KSU dropped their next 11 from there until now.
Last weekend, the Bobcats came out inspired on Friday, looking to rejuvenate the offense. They did just that, dumping two goals in the first minute and three in the first five. The Bobcats abused Wisniewski to the tune of nine scores, while Brendan Madden picked up his tenth win.
The following night, the Flashes played not to be embarrassed again. In a more defensive struggle, Nowak showed more poise in net. However, Ohio still picked up the 3-1 win, as did fellow netminder Fedor Dushkin.
Head coach Dan Morris said he expects every game, like Saturday, to be tighter from here on out.
“Kent played two different ways,” Morris said. “They played pretty inspired on Saturday night. I’d expect that level of intensity from them on Friday as well.
The puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Should Ohio advance to the second round, the Saturday start will also come at 7:30. The tournament begins at 1 with a battle of #4 Iowa State and #5 Illinois. Following that, third-seeded Robert Morris will battle the sixth-seed, Indiana.
Justin Sampson and Ryan Boyd will have the call of each Bobcat game on FastHockey.com. Follow @BobcatsHockey on Twitter for updates on every match throughout the tournament. Stay locked to ohiobobcatshockey.com for the full recap of the entire weekend.
