#1 Ohio Bobcats split the series with #3 Adrian Bulldogs
Last weekend, the Bobcats had their first games against Adrian College. The last time these two teams played was when the Bobcats won the 2026 National Championship. The Bobcats traveled to Adrian College’s home arena for the first game of the series.
Starting in the first period, the Bulldogs got an early power play, but the Bobcat defense kept them scoreless. Luc Reeve scored the first goal for the Bobcats and the 100th goal of his career! Just a minute after, the Bobcats got their first power play, but were not able to score. Barron Stibble scored the second goal for the Bobcats with assists from Rylan Oster and Lance Mengel. The Bulldogs had another power play change at the end of the first but did not score.
Just two minutes into the second period, Adrian scored their first goal of the game. Not long after, Adrian took a penalty, but the score stayed 2-1. Adrian received another penalty, and the Bobcats were able to capitalize on their power play. Mathieu Ovaert scored the power play goal assisted by Laker Aldridge and Blake Dustin. Just 20 seconds later, the Bulldogs responded, making it 3-2. Each team had a power play opportunity near the end of the second period, but the score stayed 3-2 in favor of the Bobcats.
In the third period, the Bobcats had their fifth power play of the game but were unable to score. Halfway through the third, the Bulldogs scored to tie the game. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game soon after, scoring their fourth goal. The Bobcats pulled goaltender Matt Zazon in an attempt to tie the game, but were unsuccessful. The Bulldogs took the first win in the series.
In game two, Nolan Abraham opened the scoring, assisted by Alex Thomas and Brady Gilbert. “It got us off to a hot start, and I think the boys got something off of that,” said Abraham. Soon after, the Bobcats got their first power play of the game. Rookie Alex Thomas scored the power play goal with assists from Nolan Abraham and Drake Nabozny. A fight broke out at the end of the second period, leading to two players from each team taking roughing penalties.
Early in the second period, the Bobcats got their second power play of the game. Sophomore Breydan Zupsansky scored the Bobcats' second power play goal assisted by Alex Thomas. Adrian College had two power play chances later in the second period, but the Bobcat penalty kill and goaltender Garrett Alderman kept them scoreless.
Less than a minute into the third period, Will Cohen scored the Bobcats' fourth goal of the game. During the last minute of the period, a fight broke out between the players on the ice. This led to an entire line from each team being ejected from the ice.
The Bobcats finished strong and took a 4-0 win. Garrett Alderman recorded his third shutout of the season. “I was just doing the things we prepare for in practice, but it does not get done without the help from everyone in front, blocking shots and keeping the puck out of our zone. It’s awesome to not let anything in, but I couldn’t do it without the boys in front of me,” said Alderman.
The Bobcats will be away this weekend, taking on Niagara.