Hoosiers hit the ice against Purdue

It's been a long time since Purdue beat IU on the ice. So long, in fact, that nobody seems to remember.\n"I'm not sure how long it's been," IU coach Rich Holdeman said. "They haven't won in the ten years I've been here."\nIU General Manager Adam Schuchman, who holds the archive records for IU hockey, doesn't know either.\n"It's been quite awhile, most of our records back then are incomplete," Schuchman said.\nIU (9-6-1, 2-3-1) will play Purdue University (5-9) this weekend in a non-conference battle of perennial rivals. The games will be the first for IU since Dec. 14, but junior forward Clint Heiber said he doesn't think the layover will affect the Hoosiers this weekend.\n"They (Purdue) are not that strong so we just pretty much take it as a practice," Heiber said.\nLast season, IU scored 31 goals against the Boilers and allowed just one goal in the two game series. Despite the lopsided nature of the games, Holdeman said the fan support for the Purdue series has historically been the highest of any given season.\n"Our home games (against Purdue) are always fun for us, because there are lots of fans who cheer as hard if we're winning one-nothing or ten-nothing," Holdeman said.\nIU will take the ice with a slightly different team to begin the second semester. Junior defenseman Jamie Dillon, senior forward Brad Parks and junior forward Rhys Anderson will all be sidelined for the rest of the season for IU. Anderson, who was fourth in total points for the season, decided to take the rest of the year off after sustaining a concussion against Liberty University in November.\nThose players left empty spots in the lineup that Holdeman will try to fill this weekend while implementing a new defensive strategy. Despite so many changes, graduate forward Tom Orr said the team will come out better ahead.\n"It's nice because it's given us a lot of different looks and different things we can use to throw at teams," Orr said. "You never know what is going to happen in the national tournament, so it helps us be prepared for anything."\nIU will be looking to lock down any changes before they travel to Pennsylvania to participate in the Nittany Lion Invitational. The tournament will feature many of the top division I teams in the nation. IU was the only Division II team invited to participate this year. Holdeman said he expects a challenge in Pennsylvania, but that the Purdue series has its own important implications.\n"I told the guys, when you're playing your school's main rival it doesn't matter if you're playing checkers or hockey, you want to do your best," Holdeman said. "The guys are really hyped up to play and they haven't played in four weeks, so we want to go and play well and get ready for the rest of the season.\nIU and Purdue will face off Friday on the Boiler's home ice, Pan Am arena in Indianapolis. Saturday, the two teams will complete the series at 7:30 p.m. at Frank Southern arena.