Weekend sweep gives IU shot at title

The IU hockey team completed a weekend to set up a shot at the Great Midwest Hockey League regular season title next weekend.\nThe Hoosiers got up early against Ferris State when junior forward David Dassel scored on a rebound. IU added another before FSU responded with a powerplay goal midway through the first. The Hoosiers scored twice more in the first and the teams traded goals in the second to give IU a 5-2 lead.\nIU started the third with an early powerplay goal before FSU scored three straight times to make it a one-goal game with seven minutes to play. Junior goaltender Josh Block fended off the attack and IU scored late in the third to earn the 7-5 road victory. Block stopped 33 shots for his team-high 6th win of the season.\nDassel said IU won, despite playing poor defense, by capitalizing on their scoring chances.\n"We started getting a little lazy and it was just a lack of concentration," Dassel said. "We just didn't finish the job and play with the same intensity at the beginning."\nSaturday, IU headed to Lansing, Mich., for the first conference game against Michigan State.\nIU again scored first when sophomore defenseman Todd Lorenger took a pass from junior forward Matt Ritz for Lorenger's 3rd goal of the season. MSU scored on a powerplay with 1:30 remaining in the first to even the game.\nGraduate forward Tom Orr responded for the Hoosiers early in the second, but again MSU answered when the Spartans put back a rebound in front of junior goaltender Brandon Tucker. MSU goalie Sean Huberty stopped a barrage of IU shots in the second to end the period 2-2.\n"I thought we were getting the better of the scoring chances (in the second period), but they just weren't going in," Holdeman said.\nIU started the third with a goal by freshman forward Pete Johnson two minutes into the period. It would be all IU needed to skate past MSU. Ten minutes later, freshman forward Tyler Crowley gave the Hoosiers an insurance goal and IU completed the weekend sweep with a 4-2 victory.\nTucker stopped 28 shots to improve to 3-0 on the year. Holdeman said the unexpected emergence of Tucker as a starter has given the team a boost.\n"He (Tucker) has always been good at coming in off the bench, in a relieving kind of role, but we're really glad to see him playing well as a starter." Holdeman said.\nThe wins move IU into a tie with Miami (OH) with nine points each. Both teams will play games against Oakland (20-6-3, 6-2-0) and Michigan State next weekend. Oakland could win the GMHL outright with a pair of victories, but both IU and Miami could move into a tie for first with Michigan. The top two teams receive a bye in the first round of the GMHL tournament.\n"We're optimistic, but we know that MSU has beat us before at home and Oakland only needs one more win to secure a conference title, so we know that nothing is going to come easy," junior defenseman David Standa said.\nIU will return to Bloomington to finish the GMHL season with games against Oakland Friday and Michigan State Saturday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m. at Frank Southern Arena.