Despite its status as a club sport, hockey is one of the most successful and most-attended sports at Ohio University. The team has won four Division I American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) national championships and is practically always among the top contenders for the national title.
During my time in Athens I was lucky enough to broadcast Ohio hockey games every year and to see some great Ohio teams play. I got the chance to know head coach Dan Morris fairly well, who is a great coach and hockey mind, through both covering his team and doing some coaching of my own for the Athens Youth Hockey Association. The Bobcats won the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) regular season title in the 05-06 and 06-07 seasons, but failed to win the league's end-of-the-year tournament, and to advance deep into the national tournament.
Of the four years I covered this team, it had what seemed like its least successful season in 2008-09, my senior year. The Bobcats finished fourth in the CSCHL standings and their record hovered around .500 for most of the season, which is unusual for this constantly successful team. Ohio had some experienced players, and one of the best goalies in the country in Paul Marshall, but for the most part the 08-09 Bobcats were very young, and it showed. For most of the season, the team just wasn't playing the typically solid hockey game Ohio is known for. The Bobcats did, however, start to click at just the right time - during the CSCHL tournament in Dearborn, Michigan.
Ohio's first game in the tournament pitted the Bobcats against fifth-seeded Kent State, the only other ACHA Division I team in the state of Ohio. The Bobcats won the game 2-1, but really controlled the play for most of the game, which was a good sign. After that win, though, it seemed like the tournament might end for Ohio, as it had to take on the top-seeded Lindenwood Lions. Not only did the Lions win the CSCHL regular season title, Lindenwood was #1 in the nation and finished the year with an incredible 36-2-1 record (spoiler alert: they won the ACHA national title). On this day, though, the Bobcats got the better of the Lions, winning the game 3-2 and setting up a showdown with Iowa State for the tournament championship. In the finals, it again seemed like Ohio's time had run out, as the team trailed the Cyclones 3-1 in the third period. The Bobcats did not quit, though, and three straight goals by Zack Barbis, Josh Fodor and Zach Tisdale gave Ohio a 4-3 win and its first CSCHL tournament title since 2005.
You may wonder why this event made my countdown. After all, the Bobcats had a bit of a down year by their standards, and after winning this tournament they went one-and-done at nationals. That, however, is the main reason why I think it was such a great moment. Sure, the Bobcats didn't dominate teams like they often do. They didn't even finish with a winning record in league play (8-9-1), but they didn't let that stop them. This young team made a ton of progress during the season and it paid off in the form of a league tournament title.
Another reason this championship is so impressive is the team's goaltending. Remember the goalie, Paul Marshall, who I mentioned earlier? He's actually so good that during the CSCHL tournament he was in China representing the United States at the World University Games. This meant that backup Chris Carlson played all three tournament games...and was outstanding. Marshall was usually the man in net for the Bobcats, regardless of who they were playing, so for Carlson to all of a sudden become the team's starter in a high-pressure postseason scenario, it would have been impressive if he simply kept games close. He not only did this, but he was the main reason Ohio won the tournament, especially the game against Lindenwood, a team that scored 122 goals in 20 league games during the regular season.
Finally, this made my list and cracked the top five because I got to experience this tournament with the players. I'm not saying I felt like I was a part of the team, far from it. I went on a handful of road trips with the Ohio hockey team during my college career and I always felt fairly awkward. We all went to the same school and were at the same stage in our lives, but for some reason I always felt weird. While this feeling didn't disappear, I did feel more welcome than ever before on this trip to Dearborn. Some of the players actually started to engage me in conversation at times and I didn't get the feeling that they thought I didn't belong with them, even though I wasn't really a part of the team. After spending the whole weekend with those guys, when they won the final game against Iowa State, I felt a tremendous amount of pride in our school and the team. The players knew they hadn't had the overall season they'd hoped for, but at that moment it didn't matter. They had accomplished something great that made the struggles of an entire season completely worth it. While I never experienced the same thing as an athlete, it was amazing to witness it first-hand.
With the countdown back underway, the next stop will head back to the professional ranks.
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