James Nedock/THE POST Ohio goaltender Mike Shell deflects a teammate's shot in practice. Shell is one of Ohio's three goaltenders who will see action on the ice this season.

It took an 0-6 start last year to give the Ohio club hockey team the reality check it needed to get into the American Collegiate Hockey Association semi-finals.

This year, Ohio Head Coach Craig McCarthy would rather not take the chance.

"Our great fear is our terrible start last year," he said. "But, the guys seem in better shape this year than last year coming into camp."

Ohio forward and Co-captain Marcus Marazon is not too worried.

"I'll bet you this year we're 6-0, right off the bat," he said.

From the beginning the team said they are looking for a chance to win the ACHA national championship.

"It's the same thing we strive for every year," Ohio defensemen and Co-captain Jack Pepper said. "This is our big chance. We've got strong goaltending coming back. We've got seven strong defensemen and up front it will be a real seesaw battle. We've got guys that were on the first two lines last year that will be on the third and fourth this year."

With a smaller roster - 23 players - than the team had during the 1998-1999 season, McCarthy said he hopes the team will be easier to manage from the beginning. He said he wants the team to learn the system at a faster rate than they did the previous season.

In order to avoid a start like last year, McCarthy cut much of the scrimmaging that was done in past years to avoid pre-season injuries. To counter this move, he added more drills to the practices. So far, the change has been successful in preventing any disastrous injuries, he said. But, with cutting scrimmage time, the team may be a little rusty going into Saturday night's game against Kent at Bird Arena.

The team returns only three seniors, but lack of experience and leadership should not be a problem as Marazon and Pepper said they are ready to step in and fill the role as the leaders.

McCarthy said he likes what he sees on the ice so far: talent and leadership.

"I think the team will be a little different than in the past," he said. "It's going to be strong up front. We've got some guys that can skate and score. We are strong at goal."

McCarthy said that he expects the team to be strong this year. He said he sees the team as one of the top six schools in the ACHA every year

"We may not be the most talented team," he said. "But we will try to outwork some teams throughout the course of the year so we are in a better position and are a better team come late February and early March."

Goaltender

Just as last year, the key strength of the Bobcats is in goal. The Bobcats have three contenders competing for time on the ice.

"We have three guys that would start anywhere, for just about any program," McCarthy said. "Where it is most critical, we have three Dominik Haseks. If there is an area you want to be strong in, that's what it is."

Scott Walls, The Post's 1998-1999 Co-Male Athlete of the Year, will head into the season as the frontrunner for the position. Close behind in the competition for ice time are Mike Shell and Mike Wenter

"If you consider Mike and Mike backups," Walls said of his counterparts' designation, "they really are two of the better goalies in the league. They really push me."

He said the competition is a friendly one and all three goalies are close on and off the ice.

Walls hasn't been guaranteed a starting spot, though. McCarthy said playing time might be determined by who is the best goalie at the time.

Defense

Behind the blue line for the Bobcats is where the largest weakness may be for the team. With a cut roster from years past, the Ohio defense has been shortened to only seven players. The players have noticed the added work at practice, Pepper said.

Despite having one or two fewer people on defense than in the past, the seven will benefit in experience and strength from the added repetition, Pepper said.

"We have a good defensive core, but we're only carrying seven guys" McCarthy said. "So, you get a couple of injuries and you're down to four or five guys on your roster."

Barring injury, McCarthy said he feels confident if the offense shuts down the Bobcats can still win games by stopping the other team with defense.

"Throughout the season you have to rely on all facets of the game," he said. "I always think you win your championships from the blue line in."

Mike Morrow, Tobias Keyes, Shane Print, Dennis Reed, Duke Alviano and Pepper make up the "Bobcat 7" as the season starts.

Offense

The newest edition to the team is a quick and potent scoring threat on offense.

"We lost some big guns last year," Marazon said of the team's forwards. "They could really bury the biscuit.

"But, we've got a lot faster guys and we're really gunning out here. It's a sniper squad," he said.

Marazon said to expect a more unified offense this year and a definite increase in scoring.

"Hopefully, we won't have to win from the blue line back," McCarthy said on how the quickness up front will help the defense.

"We will probably miss passes that are behind guys because they're a little bit quicker," he said.

McCarthy said he is looking to Marazon and Greg Benedetti to be the leaders of the offense.

He also said he expects newcomers Sean Kass, Mike Perino, Jussi Ikkela and Ryan Walicki to make an immediate impact on the ice.