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Thursday, Feb. 27
The Indiana Daily Student

sports

Hockey team drops tournament game

Overtime loss sends Hoosiers home from event

Going into last weekend's Great Midwestern Hockey League Tournament game against Miami University, (Ohio) held in Grand Rapids, Mich., the IU hockey team was 8-1-3 in its last 12 matches, had earned a berth for the national tournament and had beaten Miami twice already. \nHowever, the Hoosiers, unable to capitalize on several offensive opportunities, suffered a heart-breaking 4-3 loss in overtime and were knocked out much sooner than expected.\nThings looked good early on as junior forward Reed Schafer notched his 17th goal of the season with about 10 and a half minutes remaining in the first period to put the Hoosiers on top. After Miami evened the score at one, the Red Hawks captured their first lead of the game on a power-play goal and took a 2-1 advantage going into the final period. Trailing 3-1 in the third period, the Hoosiers stormed back into the game to tie it up with goals from freshman forward David Murray and junior forward Matt Henderson. Nonetheless, scrambling to come back throughout the game, the Hoosiers were unable to save energy in the overtime period as Miami scored the game-winning goal after two minutes of play. \nIU outshot the Red Hawks 21-10 in the third period and 47-36 in the game. Junior goaltender Brien McCormick dropped his record to 8-4-1. IU played too inconsistently throughout the game, coach Rich Holdeman said.\n"Our team seemed to play with intensity only when we really thought we needed to," he said. "We played great in spurts but coasted for much of the game."\nSenior captain Bill Ravensberg agreed with Holdeman's evaluation and felt his team didn't work hard enough to come away with the victory.\n"The team did not put in the effort that is needed to beat good teams like Miami," he said. "If we work hard we are tough to beat, but when we don't play complete games and work hard from start to finish, we can be beaten by anyone."\nAlthough the Hoosiers were unable to capture the conference tournament, they now set their sights on achieving their goal of the season -- winning a national championship. Before the Hoosiers begin their journey, this weekend marks the last home game IU will play this season and ends the careers for seven senior Hoosiers and Holdeman. Senior Matt Ritz said it will feel strange to leave the team for good.\n"It's a crazy feeling," he said. "It will be the first time for us to realize that we are no longer going to play hockey competitively."\nRavensberg, a three-year captain, said believes he will most miss the camaraderie of the team.\n"The last four years flew by, and I am extremely proud to have been the captain of the team," he said. "I will most definitely miss the guys on the team and the competition next year."\nFor the past several seasons, Holdeman has solidified the Hoosiers as a powerhouse in the GMHL and has helped build up the program. As the Hoosiers' all-time winningest hockey coach, Holdeman has compiled 249 victories along with a .685 winning percentage in his 13 seasons. It will be hard to leave, but he is grateful for the chance he has had, he said.\n"I will be very sad to be coaching in my last game at The Frank," Holdeman said. "I have been blessed with a great opportunity to coach at Indiana, and I am thankful for all the players and coaches I have gotten to work with."\nRitz said he feels his team has a great opportunity to give something back to Holdeman to show its appreciation for the effort the coach put into the team.\n"Without his contributions, there would be no IU hockey team," he said. "There is a great chance for our team to give something he has yet to achieve, a national championship"

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