Club hockey team pummels Illinois

It must have been a long ride back to Champaign for Illinois goalie David Altholz. Saving barely 80 percent of attempted Hoosier shots Friday night, the hockey club destroyed the University of Illinois' Division II team 8-1.\nThe Hoosiers' first goal came with 9:24 remaining in the first period. It would be all Hoosiers from there, scoring seven more consecutive goals before Illinois scored a desperation goal with 3:33 remaining in the contest.\nBut coach Rich Holdeman said he was not completely happy with the Hoosiers' performance.\n"Until the third period, I was extremely disappointed, even though we were ahead 4-0 going into it," Holdeman said. "I thought we played sloppy and not very intense. But the third period, I felt we came out and played more intense, and we finally knocked (Illinois) out of the game."\nJunior forward and assistant captain Bryan Grant, junior forward Gordy Haggard and sophomore forward Clint Heiber each had two goals for the evening, with Haggard and Grant each chipping in an assist. Nine other Hoosiers combined for 15 points, including freshman defenseman Mike Piotrowski, with three assists, and senior goalie Justin Wojtowicz, whose assist was the first point for a Hoosier goalie this season.\n"It was a good team effort," junior forward and captain Dan Hauck said. "We have a pretty deep team, and that was one of the strong points tonight."\nWojtowicz also held his own in the Hoosier net. In 60 minutes of ice time, he allowed only one goal and made 24 saves. The Hoosiers outshot the Illini 41-25.\n"I was disappointed they got a goal," Wojtowicz said. "But I thought I played pretty well."\nIn Saturday's Indiana Alumni Classic, an exhibition match, the former Hoosiers defeated the current Hoosiers 4-3.\nThe hockey club is taking a break for the holidays. Its next matches will be a home-and-home series Jan. 12 and 13, against Purdue University. The Jan. 13 contest will be at the Frank Southern Center.