Hockey team steamrolling toward CSCHL tournament

by Tom Valentino
Staff Writer

If momentum is a key factor heading into the Central States Collegiate Hockey League tournament, then the Ohio club hockey team’s chances look strong.

After sweeping No. 1 Penn State last weekend at Bird Arena and holding a 10-game unbeaten streak, the Bobcats are riding a gravy train with biscuit wheels to St. Louis.

“Being at home for four weeks helped us in gaining our composure,” forward Nick Bassarab said. “I think we have a good shot to win the tournament, but we have to worry about Illinois first.”

Ohio (19-9-4 overall, 12-6-3 CSCHL), the No. 5 seed in the CSCHL tournament, faces the No. 4 seed, Illinois (18-10-1, 14-6-1), in a qualifying game tonight. The winner meets Iowa State or St. Louis in a semifinal game Saturday.

In their only meeting this season, Ohio defeated Illinois 5-2 Nov. 4 at Bird Arena.

“That game was on a Sunday afternoon and they’d just come from Buffalo the night before,” Bassarab said. “We expect a lot closer game this time.”

The rink at the U.S. Ice Sports Complex in St. Louis is larger than the surface at Bird Arena. Goaltender Mike Shell said the bigger rink might be an advantage for the smaller, faster Illinois team.

“They have a lot of little guys that are fast. There will be a lot of room to skate there,” Shell said. “Coach (Dan Morris) has been talking about laying the body into them. We’ll have to hit them. That’s the big key.”

Morris said the Bobcats have focused on the finer points of their own game plan in practice this week.

“We’ve started putting in the final pieces. There’s a lot of little detail stuff,” Morris said. “We’ve worked on the general game, adding specifics here and there. Now we’re going back and clarifying stuff, going over every scenario.”

The Bobcats are ranked No. 4 in the nation, the highest ranked team in the tournament. St. Louis, the host team, is guaranteed a bye from the qualifying round of the tournament, despite finishing ninth in the CSCHL season standings.

Ohio plays Illinois 5:45 tonight at the U.S. Ice Sports Complex in St. L