Bobcats earn championship bid in overtime thriller
A night that was encompassed by countless penalties, players down on the ice, near-misses, questionable calls, and a freshmen goaltender duel for the ages couldn’t possibly be contained in three periods.
After three-seeded Robert Morris fought their way back from defeat with a two-goal flurry in the third, Zach Tisdale buried a feed from John Luciana in overtime to send the Bobcats to a 3-2 win and back to the CSCHL Tournament Championship.
A match that lived up to the hype that the low-key Eagles (26-7-1) create, Brendan Madden got the start for the Bobcats. He pulled off a myriad of glove saves that kept his team’s tournament hopes alive. He also pulled off his eleventh win of the year.
Opposite, Ohio (25-11-1) had the task of knocking off freshman goaltender Andy DiCristofaro for the first time in his college career. Backed by a 24-shot effort, the Bobcats snuck just enough past him to send him to a 14-1-0 record.
The Bobcats drew first blood barely over a minute after the first puck drop. A hard blast by Zack Barbis was redirected by Tyler Pilmore, giving the junior his fifteenth goal of the year.
The only thing traded through the rest of the period were penalties. It began with the Eagles’ Ryan McGaughy after he sent Pilmore head-first into the boards, earning him an ejection.
Robert Morris sent a shot on goal late in the frame that danced across the crease line but, according to the refs, didn’t pass it. The Eagles pleaded their case, but the scoreboard stayed at 1-0 into the first intermission.
First-frame misconducts hardly touched the second period, however, which saw 10 combined penalties and another Ohio strike. The Bobcats were able to stave off a 5-on-3 advantage for Robert Morris long enough for two Eagle penalties to swing that advantage Ohio’s way. Josh Fodor struck with just 11 seconds left before intermission, giving Ohio a two-goal lead to nurse through the final period.
Brett Agnew shared the same fate as his foes after a goal that seemed to find the top corner was also waived off. The refs conferred with the official behind the net, but elected there was no tally by Ohio.
With their tournament hopes on the line, Robert Morris continued to find opportunities in the third. Four Ohio penalties were dished out through a five-minute span. The Eagles finally capitalized when Christopher Cimoch scored his fifth goal of the weekend to shrink the lead to 2-1. Still with the advantage, the Bobcats barely had time to recover from the initial strike before Gehrett Sargis buried another one to knot the game 2-2.
The Eagles controlled the offensive flow through the final frame as Ohio spent most of the period in their own zone. Madden continued to make stops, including one off a faceoff with barely over a second remaining in regulation.
In overtime, the teams continued to trade shots as the minutes ticked away until the eventual noon showdown tomorrow. With just over five minutes gone in the period, Luciana found Tisdale who snuck one through DiCristofaro’s legs, blowing off the same ceiling that could be awaiting another banner after tomorrow.
The win extends Ohio’s current streak to four and halts the four-game streak enjoyed by the Eagles. Now, Ohio carries that streak into a third consecutive CSCHL Tournament Championship matchup with Lindenwood. Each team has traded the last two regular season and tournament titles. The Lions knocked off fifth-seeded Illinois in the first semifinal game.
The puck will drop at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday at Bird Arena. Catch the call with Justin Sampson and Ryan Boyd on FastHockey.com
