Hoosiers ready to take on Falcons

IU will try to recover after a tough series against regional and league opponent Miami (Ohio) last weekend. The Hoosiers lost a 2-6 contest in Oxford, Ohio, and came back to Bloomington for a tie Saturday. IU will take on regional opponent Bowling Green State University Friday for a one-game-only matchup that has national playoff implications.\n"I think it's going to be a tough game. I hope our guys come ready to play," coach Rich Holdeman said. "Based on who they've played and how they've done, it should be a good, solid game."\nBGSU (13-5-0) is a former Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL) opponent of IU. The teams played regular league games until BGSU left the conference in 1996. IU has won the last six games against the Falcons, including a 6-0 shutout in the last game of the 1996 MCHL season.\nThe game was scheduled well into the season after IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne folded their hockey program. Holdeman said the game will provide a tough opponent and help shorten the break between semesters for the players.\nAfter last weekend, southeast region No. 2 Miami will likely surpass No. 1 IU. Bowling Green will try to take advantage of the rankings shift to move themselves into contention for a trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament, Holdeman said.\n"We played well last weekend, but it didn't show up in the win column," graduate forward Tom Orr said. "We need to play as well and get the scoreboard to follow so the rest of the Southeast conference, who isn't at Frank Southern (Arena) to see us playing well can see the wins."\nThe powerplay tells the story of the IU season. In games the Hoosiers have won, they have scored on 26.3 percent of their powerplay opportunities and held their opponents scoreless 83.7 percent of the time. In their losses, IU is just 9.5 percent on the powerplay and 67.7 percent on the penalty kill.\n"In the games we've lost, the special teams have been symptomatic of the play as a whole," Holdeman said. "When we play with a high intensity level, our special teams work with everything else."\nThe Hoosiers will try to slow down a BGSU offense that has put the puck in the net 46 times in their last five games while allowing only nine in the same span. And with a chance to move up in region rankings, Holdeman said he was sure the Falcons would be ready to come to Bloomington.\n"They've got a chance to play their way into the nationals if they beat us. This is going to be their Olympics," Holdeman said. "I'm expecting this to be a good, hard-fought battle."\nSaturday, IU will play the annual Alumni Classic. The game is played between a team of IU hockey alumni and the current IU hockey team.\nIU will face BGSU at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Frank Southern Arena. The Alumni Classic will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Frank Southern.