IU looks for success against D-I club foe

After a 7-4 victory and a split of its series against No. 5 Grand Valley State University this past weekend, the IU hockey team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., this weekend for two games against Division I Western Michigan University.\nAt 1-1, IU looks to put together a win streak against the Stallions, who belong to the Central States Collegiate Hockey Division I Club League. The Stallions, 2-2, look for revenge on a Hoosier team that won both games against them last season in Bloomington.\nIU head coach Rich Holdeman thinks this weekend is a good chance for the Hoosiers to prepare themselves for the tough schedule that lies ahead.\n"Western Michigan is a solid Division I club team," Holdeman said. "It's a good opportunity for us to go on the road and play a tough team, which will help us get ready for our difficult conference opponents."\nWith IU playing against its first Division I opponent this season, Holdeman believes the team is ready for the competition.\n"There is not a ton of difference between Division I and Division II because our league is so good," Holdeman said. "Every team in our conference is as every bit as good as any Division I team."\nSophomore forward Dan Karlander agrees with Holdeman's assessment.\n"It might be a little more difficult playing them at their rink this year," he said. "If we play up to our level though, we should be able to handle them."\nAfter the first series of the season, players and coaches noticed a few things to work on. Getting the puck in the net and preventing defensive lapses have been the major themes of practice this week. \n"We've been working on a lot of personal skills this week," said senior forward Michael Kearns. "We have been shooting around a lot and trying to figure out ways to put the puck in the net."\nHoldeman says that in addition to scoring goals, defense will be key this weekend.\n"We gave up way too many odd man rushes with a lot of two-on-ones and three-on-twos," Holdeman said. "We want to be very aggressive on defense, but we don't want to give up a ton of scoring chances because of being overly aggressive."\nWith some injuries affecting the lineup, including a shoulder injury to senior forward Pete Johnson, IU has had to make some adjustments to its offensive and defensive systems. With the depth on the team, it shouldn't be a problem, Holdeman said.\n"Having Pete (Johnson) getting knocked out is kind of a downer for us," Holdeman said. "But we have a lot of other guys to come in and help us out"