From Athens Messenger
By Allan Brown
In what promises to be a fiery clash between two top 10 nationally ranked teams, the Liberty Flames come to Bird Arena Friday and Saturday to put the soaring Bobcats’ Hockey team to the ultimate test.
Ohio University Head Coach Lionel Mauron feels his team is up to the challenge in a series as long as his squad plays the game they are capable of executing.
“Without a doubt, Liberty is the best team we have played so far. They are very fast in transition, with elite players who can create a lot of offense. They play an electrifying style of hockey, which will give us a lot of challenges for sure. Their special teams are very dangerous, we know we need to play two grade-A games to have a chance this weekend,” Mauron said.
To accomplish that goal, Mauron noted there are a few key things the Bobcats must focus on this weekend.
“We want to be better structured to allow us to use our skill with more speed and predictability this weekend. Last week, we relied on our individual skills too much and we committed too many unforced errors, we know this will be costly against Liberty. Overall, we want to protect the middle of the ice better and protect the neutral zone more effectively.”
At 17-4-1 and off to their best start at this point in the season since the 2004-05 squad, Mauron said he feels his team is up to the challenge of playing a top-three ranked team.
“We feel confident about our play so far this year and we know we are right there with the best teams in the country. We have players who can play roles throughout our lineup, and we believe we can beat anybody,” Mauron said.
One thing the coach said his players must focus on is avoiding going to the penalty box.
In last weekend’s split against Stony Brook, Bobcats’ players accounted for 11 penalties.
“We need to stay out of the box. We have a very good penalty kill, but it requires to use our top players in defensive situations too many minutes of the game. It mostly leads to having two thirds of our lineup sitting on the bench for long minutes and it is impossible to build rhythm and energy that way. This is part of the growth we want to have this semester; we still feel good about where we are, but we have improvements to make,” Mauron said, referencing last weekend’s game against the Seawolves.
Following a questionable overtime loss in the Saturday game against Stony Brook, the team was obviously disappointed. Mauron said they need to fuel that disappointment toward beating the Flames this weekend.
“That series has left a bitter taste in our mouth, if anything, it must fuel our willingness to compete and dominate this week. We now know how quickly a game can get out of hand and how a single play can decide the outcome. Playing good competition heightens our senses and I am sure it will push our team to improve,” the coach said.
Puck drop both nights is 7 p.m.
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Reeve leads country in two key stats
OU freshman forward Luc Reeve continues to dominate in his first season of American Collegiate Hockey Association play.
Reeve leads the nation in two key Mens D1 statistics. He is number one in both points with 49 and goals with 24. His 25 assists to date in the 2022-23 campaign have him tied for fourth place in those numbers.
As for individual team stats, Reeve leads in all three categories, with another freshman forward, Laker Aldridge in second with 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points.
Rounding out the top five in goals are JT Schimizzi with 11, Aiden Grieco with eight and Andrew Sacca and Hollander Thompson with seven.
The top Bobcats in assists are Reeve, Captain Sam Turner (21), Aldridge (20), forward Ryan Higgins (14), Sacca (12) and Collin Felton with 11.
Besides Reeve, the top OU players in total points are Aldridge (38), Turner (24), Higgins (20) and Sacca (19).
(Originally published at https://www.athensmessenger.com/sports/ohiouniversity/ou-hockey-team-ready-for-huge-test-at-bird-this-weekend/article_1d54e9de-902d-11ed-ad42-134e68fca37d.html)
