Finals to present challenge

Five games for all the marbles. The hockey team knows as much about pressure as any other team in the country, but this is the culmination of every goal the team has been talking about all year. \nOf course, it's not going to be an easy road to victory in the Division II American Collegiate Hockey Association's national championship.\n"One of the problems with our ranking procedures is that the bids of the tournament come out a bit early," coach Rick Holdeman said.\nTo come out of its preliminary grouping, the Hoosiers will likely need three consecutive victories today, Thursday and Friday. Today's match against the West's third-seeded Utah will most likely prove to be as difficult as any game in the tournament. The Utes recently beat Sierra University, the West's No. 1 team.\nFriday's matchup against Michigan State University also promises to be a challenge for the Hoosiers. The Spartans swept the Hoosiers Super Bowl weekend in East Lansing and are far-and-away the best team in the central division of the ACHA.\nBut without a second thought, IU's team captain said the squad is a respectable and viable force for the national crown.\n"I'm feeling pretty confident we're going to do well," junior forward and captain Dan Hauck said. "We have to take it one game at a time and play as hard as we can. I think with it being the national tournament, there's a little more pressure, but I think we can handle it."\nIU's hockey team made it to the final game of the tournament in 1995, 1998 and 2000. It walked away empty-handed each time. And the players know the pressure is on their performance as well as the team's legacy.\n"You can't say if something doesn't work this year, we have next year," junior forward and assistant captain Bryan Grant said. "You never know when you'll have another chance."\nAll things considered, the Hoosiers have as good of a chance as anybody to win the tournament. With the games taking place in Fishers, Ind., the Hoosiers are on familiar ice, where several of them played high school hockey for Park Tudor. The team enters its second weekend without a major injury for the first time this calendar year, and the coaches said they feel the Hoosiers are practicing "very well" right now.\nHoldeman said the team hopes to switch senior Justin Wojtowicz and sophomore Charlie Pulley around in goal throughout the weekend, hopefully keeping both players fresh. Pulley is scheduled to start against Utah.\nFor Wojtowicz, Brad Lutsch, Darrell Huotari and the Hoosiers' other seniors, years of frustration and past disappointment will be riding on the results of these five games.\n"We don't have too many seniors, and that's one of the reasons we've been a little inconsistent during the year at times," Holdeman said. "It'll be a big question mark for us."\nAnd if things don't work out so well for the Hoosiers this weekend?\n"We're not thinking about that right now," Hauck said.