Hoosiers impress against defending champ Oakland

While most IU students were at home eating leftover turkey and watching football, the IU ice hockey team was preparing for a holiday weekend series with defending national club champion Oakland University.\nThe Hoosiers welcomed the Michigan side to town boasting an 8-4 overall record while occupying the No. 5 spot in the regional rankings. But, the No. 2 Grizzlies are not ones to be intimidated, and their 13-1 record has them at the top of the Great Midwest Hockey Leagues's Central Division. \nIU was prepared for a physical series with Oakland, which has a reputation around the league as a team that "is always looking for the extra hit," said junior forward Jon Laugner. But it was the Hoosiers who would take control 52 seconds into the game through senior David Ravensberg's goal, and a power play would strike five minutes later with junior Pete Johnson taking advantage of coach Rich Holdeman's newly implemented "umbrella" formation. \n"(The umbrella power play) isolates one defender to create 2-on-1 shots for us," said junior forward Reed Schafer.\nThe game played Friday night would end in a 6-6 draw, seeing the Hoosiers power play score four times, forcing Oakland to play catch-up. It was encouraging for IU's offense to be so potent against the division leaders, despite letting leads of 2-0, 3-1 and 6-4 slip away. \nSaturday's match-up saw the Hoosiers make a stand against the defending champs. Sophomore Mike Casper and freshman Dan Karlander both scored in the first period, and Schafer netted a natural hat trick plus a fourth goal in the second. The Hoosier penalty-killing unit also stepped up, shutting Oakland down throughout the contest. \nThe beginning of the third period saw a sharp momentum swing in favor of the Grizzlies, who scored twice in the first three minutes of the final frame to bring the score to 7-5 in favor of IU. Reeling from the two quick strikes, the Hoosiers fell back on their heels and looked as if they might repeat their own mistakes from the day before and allow the defending champs back into the game. In attempts to prevent another Hoosier lapse, Holdeman called a time out to rally his troops for the final 17 minutes.\nFrom there the tempo of the game flew to a fevered pitch, but it would only take the Hoosiers five more minutes to find the insurance goal they so desperately needed. Providing the insurance tally was Schafer with his fifth goal of the game, putting the home team up 8-5 and bringing the fans at the Frank Southern Ice Arena to their feet for the remaining 12 minutes. \nThe win knots IU and Oakland into a tie for second place in the division and sends the Hoosiers from No. 5 to No. 4 in the regional rankings. \n"We took three out of four points from the defending national champs, and any time you do that, it's a strong weekend," Laughner said. \nThe Hoosiers travel to Michigan this weekend to face the current league leaders Davenport University of Grand Rapids, Iowa.\n"We really had not beaten any teams that we felt were as equally talented as us, and this weekend we beat a very talented team," Holdeman said. "It's a huge confidence booster. If we play our game, we are a very good team and difficult to beat." \n-- Contact staff writer David Resnik at dfaraday@indiana.edu.