IU encounters tough weekend, looks to Illinois

Last weekend, the IU hockey club made the journey north to face Big Ten rival Michigan State for a two-game weekend set. After beating Minnesota and St. Cloud University at home earlier this month, the Hoosiers walked into the Spartan arena with their heads held high. \nUnfortunately for the visitors, they would drop both contests in East Lansing, Mich., and return to Bloomington with a 2-2 record and a sense of missed opportunities. Credited as one of the perennial powerhouse teams in the Great Midwest Hockey League, the Spartans were too strong for IU to withstand, losing 9-1 in the first game and 6-2 in the second. \nThe team outlook was not all negative, though. \n"Michigan State has a great team this year," said coach Rich Holdeman. "We got some valuable experience playing against a strong opponent last weekend. Our players got a good idea of what it's going to take in terms of effort for us to compete with the top teams in the country this season." \nPenalties cost the Hoosiers, especially Saturday, when they racked up a mind-numbing 40 infractions. Said to be an after-effect of this season's NCAA efforts to bring more finesse to the college game and their lack of leniency on physical play, it is nonetheless an area the club must address before this weekend's showdown with interstate rival University of Illinois. \nThrough the turmoil, however, there has been one star that has shone through in each game. Junior forward Reed Schafer scored in each game against State, with assists going to Bill Ravensberg in the first game and Todd Lorenger combining with Ravensberg to set up Schafer in the second. \nAs the team returns to the friendly confines of Frank Southern Ice Arena, spirits are beginning to lift, though the University of Illinois Fighting Illini plan to invade Bloomington this weekend.\n"I have been a part of some very successful teams, and I am very excited about the chemistry and talent level of this years team," said redshirt senior Tom Orr. "We have an opportunity to win every game we play in front of our home crowd, and that is something we haven't done since my first year as a Hoosier." \nThe Illini come into "the Frank" riding high on a 7-3-0 record and looking to continue their winning ways. The Hoosiers hope to avenge their weekend escapade in Michigan back at home. \n"We are happy to get started with a 2-2 record, seeing as how we start a month later than any other team in the country," said sophomore Matt Henderson. "We learned a lot this weekend, and if we fix a few things, we're going to be a tough team to beat all season long." \nFriday night at the Frank is "Hockey Night in B-Town," with the opening puck set to drop at 9 p.m., and again at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.\n-- Contact staff writer David Resnik at dfaraday@indiana.edu.