Hockey grabs a pair of wins over Bobcats

By Patrick Thompson

The Cool Cats clawed their way to a 2-0 victory against Ohio University on Friday in their home opener.

The Cats’ approach was aggressive in the first period, as they generated lots of scoring chances and won the battle for the loose pucks in the offensive zone.  The physical play and raucous UK fans frustrated the Bobcats from the start, and kept them in their defensive zone for much of the first period.

Junior forward Dylan Rohar scored the first goal of the game with 4:21 left in the first period.  The goal was assisted by senior captain Billy Glass, as his shot was deflected into the net off the stick of Rohar.

The Bobcats came together during the second period, peppering UK’s goalie with shots and crashing the net for second chances.  Kentucky was shorthanded for much of the second period due to penalties.  However, sophomore goalie Aaron Tenfelde kept UK out of danger after a series of highlight reel saves, two of which came off of Bobcat breakaways.

Captain Billy Glass praised his goalie after the game.

“One of our biggest concerns at the beginning of the season was goaltending, and Tenfelde showed that he’s going to be the number one,” Glass said. “I was pretty impressed with what he did out there tonight.”

The Cats capitalized again on their opportunities in the third period, as Ohio pulled its  goalie with 1:39 left in order to put an extra attacker on the ice.  However, the Bobcats couldn’t contain UK’s offense and an empty net goal was scored by senior forward Sean Mclaughlin with 0:52 left to go, securing a 2-0 victory for UK.

UK played the Bobcats again on Saturday night, defeating them 7-5.

Head coach Rob Docherty praised his team, saying they work well together and have a great chance to make nationals this year.

The Cats play again against the University of Akron at the Lexington Ice Center Friday, Sept. 30 at midnight.