OU hockey season...from start to finish
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2003 5:32 pm
On Sunday the Ohio University men's hockey team finished its season with a 5-0 defeat in the national title game against Penn State, who won the championship for the fourth year in a row. The tournament took place at Bird Arena, OU's home ice, where all 18 games of the tournament were played. Here's a look at the Bobcats' second-place season; there are 36 teams in ACHA Division I, where the Bobcats play.<
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>OVERALL CONFERENCE RECORD: The Bobcats, who play in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League, finished 12-6-2 in the conference (that's 12 wins, 6 losses, and 2 shootout losses, for a total of 26 points in the league, with a couple of wins coming in shootouts.) The biggest losses were on Penn State's home ice on the last weekend in October, losing 7-1 and 9-3 to the Icers (for some reason the Penn State hockey team is the Icers and not the Nittany Lions...I haven't figured out that one.)<
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>After a November loss to Saint Louis (5-4 in OT after the Bobcats held a 4-0 lead in the second) the Bobcats stood 7-7-2; from that point until the end of the season, they went 13-3-2 with one shootout loss and one tie against then-No. 1 Penn State (which should have been a win, if you ask me...we led 2-1 in the third when Penn State got a 5-on-3 power play and tied the score in what probably should have remained a 5-on-4.) The only regulation losses were to Illinois and Penn State, both of which were No. 1 at the time OU played them. In addition, the weekend after OU went to 7-7-2, the Bobcats
oke out against Washington and Jefferson (the Presidents...again, haven't figured that one out...) in an 8-0 and 11-0 pair of massacres on OU home ice, that may have saved OU's season and wrecked W&J's.<
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>Not counting tournament games, OU finished 20-10-4 and #4 in the nation and came in second in the conference tournament at Iowa State. The CSCHL tournament is single-elimination and has eight teams, and the Bobcats slew Saint Louis (the Billikens...again, no idea, though it was amusing to hear random Bobcat fans shout "What the hell's a Billiken?" about four times a game during the OU-SLU games at Bird.) OU beat Iowa State, the tournament's home team, in the semifinals before falling to #1 Illinois in the finals, 2-1 in OT.<
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>The national tournament was at Bird Arena, OU's home ice, and OU was seeded 4th out of 12. Each team played in a pool of three teams, with the team to win both their games going to the semifinals. OU drew #5 Arizona and #9 Michigan-Dearborn, beating Dearborn 5-4 and Arizona 4-0 to go to the semifinals against Illinois, Penn State, and Delaware.<
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>It turns out #3 Minot State (in North Dakota) didn't outlast Delaware (the #6 team, the "Fighting Blue Hens"...again, someone please figure that one out.) And frankly if I were wearing a corporation's name on the back of my jersey where my last name should be, as Minot State was, I wouldn't leave the locker room. OU drew #1 Illinois while #2 Penn State got Delaware. Penn State won easily, and OU came back from giving up an early 2nd period goal to the Fighting Illini to take away a 4-1 victory, thus knocking off the #1 team in the nation. However, the next day, Penn State took home the championship on OU's home ice, and the Bobcats settled for second. All in all, this was a hell of a seaon for OU, reaching the national championship game for the first time in five years and falling a game short of its first national title since it won three straight in 1995-97.<
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>I don't know where the next national tournament will be, but already I can see myself going through OU hockey withdrawal within the next two months... <B>God bless America, land that I love; stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam; God bless America, my home sweet home; God bless America, my home sweet home.</B><
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><B>"We're gonna kick the s#!t out of you, and your mom, and your dad, and your girlfriend too!" OU hockey's student section</B><i></i>
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>OVERALL CONFERENCE RECORD: The Bobcats, who play in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League, finished 12-6-2 in the conference (that's 12 wins, 6 losses, and 2 shootout losses, for a total of 26 points in the league, with a couple of wins coming in shootouts.) The biggest losses were on Penn State's home ice on the last weekend in October, losing 7-1 and 9-3 to the Icers (for some reason the Penn State hockey team is the Icers and not the Nittany Lions...I haven't figured out that one.)<
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>After a November loss to Saint Louis (5-4 in OT after the Bobcats held a 4-0 lead in the second) the Bobcats stood 7-7-2; from that point until the end of the season, they went 13-3-2 with one shootout loss and one tie against then-No. 1 Penn State (which should have been a win, if you ask me...we led 2-1 in the third when Penn State got a 5-on-3 power play and tied the score in what probably should have remained a 5-on-4.) The only regulation losses were to Illinois and Penn State, both of which were No. 1 at the time OU played them. In addition, the weekend after OU went to 7-7-2, the Bobcats
oke out against Washington and Jefferson (the Presidents...again, haven't figured that one out...) in an 8-0 and 11-0 pair of massacres on OU home ice, that may have saved OU's season and wrecked W&J's.<
><
>Not counting tournament games, OU finished 20-10-4 and #4 in the nation and came in second in the conference tournament at Iowa State. The CSCHL tournament is single-elimination and has eight teams, and the Bobcats slew Saint Louis (the Billikens...again, no idea, though it was amusing to hear random Bobcat fans shout "What the hell's a Billiken?" about four times a game during the OU-SLU games at Bird.) OU beat Iowa State, the tournament's home team, in the semifinals before falling to #1 Illinois in the finals, 2-1 in OT.<
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>The national tournament was at Bird Arena, OU's home ice, and OU was seeded 4th out of 12. Each team played in a pool of three teams, with the team to win both their games going to the semifinals. OU drew #5 Arizona and #9 Michigan-Dearborn, beating Dearborn 5-4 and Arizona 4-0 to go to the semifinals against Illinois, Penn State, and Delaware.<
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>It turns out #3 Minot State (in North Dakota) didn't outlast Delaware (the #6 team, the "Fighting Blue Hens"...again, someone please figure that one out.) And frankly if I were wearing a corporation's name on the back of my jersey where my last name should be, as Minot State was, I wouldn't leave the locker room. OU drew #1 Illinois while #2 Penn State got Delaware. Penn State won easily, and OU came back from giving up an early 2nd period goal to the Fighting Illini to take away a 4-1 victory, thus knocking off the #1 team in the nation. However, the next day, Penn State took home the championship on OU's home ice, and the Bobcats settled for second. All in all, this was a hell of a seaon for OU, reaching the national championship game for the first time in five years and falling a game short of its first national title since it won three straight in 1995-97.<
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>I don't know where the next national tournament will be, but already I can see myself going through OU hockey withdrawal within the next two months... <B>God bless America, land that I love; stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam; God bless America, my home sweet home; God bless America, my home sweet home.</B><
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><B>"We're gonna kick the s#!t out of you, and your mom, and your dad, and your girlfriend too!" OU hockey's student section</B><i></i>