Fierce rivalry lives up to hype
By William Strome, Staff Writer
January 14, 2008 | noon
A playoff-like atmosphere created an ecstatic environment inside Bird Arena this past weekend as No. 8 Ohio University hosted its most bitter rival, No. 2 Penn State University.
"The intensity was unbelievable, the crowd was great," coach Dan Morris said. "Both games were standing room only and Saturday night's game was a sold-out packed house."
Whether they were sitting, standing or skating, the Bobcats and their fans were rewarded on Saturday night when Ohio downed Penn State 7-6 in a dramatic, exhilarating shootout.
Dave Fitzgerald and Gerry Raymond found the back of the net for Ohio's two shootout goals, but it was goalie Paul Marshall who sealed the deal with four crucial saves. Marshall finished the night with 35 saves.
"We were going to give our fans one great game, I guess you could say we did that on Saturday," Morris said.
The Bobcats were without forward Brandon Fackey who was ejected during warm-ups before Saturday's game.
"One of our guys got hit so I took a shot and hit one of them back," Fackey said during the first period Saturday night.
Fackey wasn't the only one fired up before the puck dropped.
"The night before we got shut out at home, we had to get the crowd into it early," Morris said. "We were hoping for anything early, if not a goal then maybe a fight."
Right-winger Ryan Tessmer was the first to score for Ohio (9-5 CSCHL, 17-10) and would later finish the game with his first hat-trick of the season. Penn State was quick to answer and kept up with the 'Cats throughout the entire game, despite falling behind by two goals on three separate occasions.
Penn State (22-5) tied the game at six on a break-away, power-play goal less than four minutes into the third period. A critical hooking penalty was called on Ohio's Clay LaBrosse with 45 seconds left in regulation. This penalty gave Penn State a man-up advantage to start overtime and diminished all hopes of a potential last-minute scoring opportunity for the Bobcats.
Overtime was just as, if not more, physical than any period over the two-game series. While the physical nature remained constant both nights, it was Ohio's style of play that was noticeably different.
"Saturday we were overly aggressive," Morris said. "Friday on the other hand, we played very conservative hockey."
The Bobcats were blanked on Friday night, 2-0, giving Penn State goalie Nick Signet his third shutout of the year. However, Signet was pulled less than five minutes into the second period on Saturday night, following Tessmer's third goal.
"We played decent hockey on Friday night, we just couldn't finish," Morris said.
On Friday Ohio out-shot Penn State 27-21 but was unable to capitalize on numerous opportunities.
"Even though we couldn't finish, we've watched the game tapes and we know what we have to work on," Morris said. "There's always room for improvement and we will carry on that motto through the rest of the season."
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Team Notes:
Ohio hosts No. 17 Western Michigan this Friday and Saturday night at Bird Arena.
The following week Ohio travels to No. 1 Illinois.
Jim Fuhs had three assists Saturday and now leads the team in points with 35.
Prior to Saturday's game, Penn State had shut out its opponent in five of the team's last nine games.
Ohio went 3-19 on power plays during the weekend series (3-10 on Saturday).
Of Penn State's five losses, all but one (Illinois, 3-1) have been in overtime or a shootout.