Hoosiers defeat Ferris State, drops one to the Spartans

Needing wins down the stretch, the IU club hockey team went on the road with hopes of knocking off two division opponents. But a relentless offensive attack by Michigan State gave IU all they could handle, as the Hoosiers dropped one to MSU before defeating Ferris State 8-4.\nOn Friday, the Hoosiers found themselves in a 2-0 hole to the Spartans at the end of the first period, as the defense seemed overwhelmed by the MSU attack. Freshman goalie Sam Veith started the game, but after finding himself in trouble in the second, senior Josh Block got the nod in relief.\nThe MSU pressure did not stop there. For the remainder of the second period, Block was forced to deal with over 20 shots on goal, as the Spartan offense began to show their dominance.\nWith frustration growing amongst the Cream and Crimson and time ticking away, the gloves came off after Block responded to a Spartan forward's slash in the crease. The second brawl in three weeks for IU, the Hoosier's netminder was ejected after imposing his own justice on the oversized Spartan forward.\n"I didn't realize the guy was about 6-foot-2 until my helmet was off," Block said. "But I was getting slashed all night, and the last one was two-handed to the face. It all happened pretty quick, and we ended up fighting right there."\nBlock served his one-game suspension Saturday night in a win against the Bulldogs of Ferris State. The shorthanded Hoosiers, who were also without the services of senior forward David Dassell, moved to 12-9-3 overall and held on to the No. 3 spot in the division after finding the offense that escaped them the night before.\nGoals by sophomore Reed Schafer, junior David Ravensberg and freshman Richard Young set the tone as IU found their rhythm and jumped out to a comfortable lead. But the defense, still struggling from Friday night's contest, allowed a few mistakes, as freshman goalie Jimmy Hugill allowed four Bulldog goals in the win.\nNext up for the Hoosiers is a two-game home stand against the division No. 1 Oakland Grizzlies and border-rival Michigan. With postseason play less than a month away, IU will have to hold tough at home to secure their birth to Nationals.