Hockey: Ohio crashes into Niagara 3-2 and ends hard on overtime

After nearly a two-week break and a month away from home, Ohio was unable to withstand its first two-game series against Niagara. It lost 3-2 overtime at Bird Arena on Friday night.

“I think we deserve better,” Ohio coach Lionel Mauron said. “I thought we controlled most of the game (and I think we created a lot of places.”

Those chances weren’t enough for Ohio, as the game slipped from it on Friday. The game was over, but Niagara was able to do more with goals.

Friday’s race started slowly for both teams and there was no activity at the start. Andrew Sacca’s goal, with less than two minutes left in the first period, got things going for Ohio, although Niagara took that early lead when he scored a goal with eight seconds left in the period.

Niagara was able to respond to plays created by Ohio. It benefited from becoming aggressive on the ice and staying that way throughout the game. Niagara’s aggression didn’t come as a surprise to Ohio.

“I knew they were going to be really aggressive in their game,” Mauron said. “We have to raise our power game a lot more, and it probably cost us the game in the end, but I think it’s just part of the game.”

Errors in power games were a common problem in the Bobcats attack. They were one in five in power games and couldn’t find a goal when they needed the most goals.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get good bounces in the power game, which if we were, it would have been a different game,” Mauron said. “I think we also played well in defense, only a couple of bounces went their way.”

Ohio succeeded in the penalty kick and forced Niagara to go zero to three in their power games. The Bobcats created many stops on the defensive side, which led to keeping the game close.

Nick Erker is a player who has had a huge impact on Ohio’s defense recently. On Friday, he helped prevent bigger games from happening at the Niagara Power Games. Erker also scored the Bobcats ’second goal in the game and took them to the lead for most of the second set.

Unfortunately, after Erker’s goal, Ohio failed to find a net throughout the third set. Bobcats wasn’t in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for Niagara after five minutes.

“(Overtime) three to three,” Mauron said. “You (have to) make quick decisions, unfortunately it was wrong and it cost us the game.”

@Mariamonesii

[email protected]