Team remains undefeated in Division 1 after solid weekend

Coach Rich Holdeman recalls exactly what went through his mind with 45 seconds left in overtime against the University of Illinois Saturday,the score knotted up at four.\n"I said to the guys, we don't need four players down low. We were playing like we were down by a goal and not tied," he said. "We were throwing everything and the kitchen sink at them and not thinking defense."\nOne second later, sophomore center David Dassell sent a perfect pass right onto the tape of defenseman Tim McMahon's stick. Standing all alone, McMahon rifled a wrist shot past the outstretched hand of Illinois goaltender Gregg Cooper. \n"When the puck ended up on Tim's stick," Holdeman said. "I said to myself, 'OK, I'll let that one go.' He did a great job of finishing the play."\nFollowing a third period breakdown during which the Hoosiers (14-3-1, 2-1-1) spent 10 minutes in the penalty box and allowed two goals in the final three minutes of play, McMahon was able to right the sinking ship.\n"Everybody's eyes on the bench just lit up," senior defenseman Adam Federman said. "I was the first one over the boards. I almost jumped onto the ice before he scored it. Good thing he put it in."\nThe 5-4 victory concluded a weekend of some of exciting hockey. The Division 1 University of Illinois brought their fast-paced brand of hockey to the Frank Southern Center and pushed the Hoosiers to the limit before leaving town with a pair of 5-4 losses.\nSaturday night's win held particular significance for Federman, an Illinois native who was coming off arguably his worst game of the season. Friday night, Federman was guilty of a pair of ill-advised and costly penalties, followed by a third period fluke giveaway in his own zone that Fighting Illini winger Luke Carlson had no trouble putting behind IU goaltender Charlie Pulley.\n"I was just trying to play physical and it ended up backfiring," Federman said. "In the third, the puck got caught in my skates and just like that they scored."\nHoldeman sat Federman down after the game Friday to talk to him about what happened. \n"Adam had a rough game Friday night," Holdeman said. "He was maybe a little too pumped up going in because it is his hometown team and he knows some of the guys over there. He made some pretty bad mistakes. I talked to him after the game and told him that you're going to have games like that, the important thing is how you come back and play the next night."\nFederman redeemed himself in a huge way with several bone-crunching checks Saturday, while providing steady veteran defense for inexperienced freshmen Jamie Dillon and Todd Lorenger.\n"He was all over the ice just crunching guys," Holdeman said. "He really stepped up and redeemed himself."\nThe best news for the Hoosiers this weekend was the play of their goaltenders, Pulley and sophomore Josh Block, both of whom held the Fighting Illini to four goals despite being outshot on both nights.\nThe win brings IU's record to 3-0 against ACHA Division 1 competition this season, and question's the teams ability to play tougher competition.\n"I've been trying to push coach to at least think about it," general manager Alex Kyrias said. "The question is whether or not we can take it on the road."\nHoldeman pointed out that one of the drawbacks of moving up is the lack of teams in Division 1, not to mention the heated rivalries that have developed particularly against Great Midwestern Hockey League counterparts. One option would be for the entire GMHL to move up, a task that would likely take a great deal of time and work before there were any results.\n"We are losing ten seniors this year, so we can't assume that we're going to be this good next year," Kyrias said. "But the team we have right now is definitely good enough to compete with anybody. People are starting to take notice. They know we're not a fluke"