Bobcats Sent Home Early After Late Night CSCHL Game

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – The Ohio University Bobcats took a five and a half long ride to Champaign for the Central States Collegiate Hockey League championships. But they waited nearly 11 hours to even take the ice.

That was all due to the Iowa State University and Lindenwood University game going into five overtimes.

But after an intense stretch of hockey that spanned across all periods, there was a short stretch where the University of Illinois Illini broke through to secure a 2-0 win and sent the Ohio University Bobcats home early.

After arriving at the arena at 5 p.m. Ohio and Illinois waited roughly seven hours before taking the ice. After suiting up and mentally checking in for the night’s contest, both teams were sidelined.

“Yeah, they got ramped and focus thinking we were going to have a normal start time, but they would have to be locked in for 7-8 hours and I don’t think that’s physically possible,” head coach Cole Bell said.

While the game was happening, Bell emphasized that he knew it would be along one just by watching how the overtime was playing out. He allowed the Bobcats to take a load off before getting back to work.

“We let them watch the game and try to stay loose and kind of stay awake and then start to lock it in through warm-ups, you have to be realistic too,” Bell said.

In the first period is where the intensity started. The Illini applied pressure early on to push the puck to the net. But Ohio’s defense was able to defend against any sort of attempt with a strong counter.

The game itself was one that was a lot close than the last time that they met up. Instead of a whopping game with physicality and a lot of quick goals, this game carried a little bit more weight which brought some tension down onto the ice.

After Ohio found their grove, their battle against Illinois changed the pace and created an aggressive forecheck oriented game. Both offensive lines took care of the puck in a constant battle to take control of this game.

“Towards the end of the first we started to find our groove a little bit and find our step for the second and even into the third,” Bell said. “I think we were working hard but not working smart.”

The true killer in this one was a quick back-to-back series of goals late in the third period. The Illini were on a powerplay and the first goal on the powerplay got the ball rolling for a short period of time until the final buzzer.

“Just had a breakdown in our coverage on the penalty kill,” Bell said. “We talked a lot about taking away shooting lanes but we gave them a free one and they capitalized on that chance,”

A big takeaway for coach Bell was not only the game itself but the delayed start. Because of that, he was able to learn as a coach and his assistants were able to see something new as well.

“It was good practice for us just like in any other sport,” Bell said. “I think some of the things in that game came true in our game, winning battles in front of the net, playing simple hockey and having the willingness to get to the front of the net and grind.”

Ohio will go home early in this tournament, but they are still seeded at number four for the national tournament on Friday, March 20.

They were set to play the winner of the Central Oklahoma and Niagara University game. This game was set to be played at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. But the ACHA National Tournament was canceled along with many other events amid concerns of COVID-19.