Hoosiers seek first national title in postseason tourney

Through many months of off-season conditioning, including running the stairs at Memorial Stadium, daily weight room activities and long hours at practice, the IU hockey team set one goal this season -- to win a national championship. The Hoosiers will begin that journey as they head to Rochester, NY. to compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Championship Tournament starting today against Oakland University, a team they have not beaten since the 2003 season.\nFinishing with a regular season mark of 17-11-3, the Hoosiers earned the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Regional bracket and will play in a three-game round robin format to determine whether they qualify for the national semi-finals starting March 11. Joining the Hoosiers in their pool will be No. 1 seed Stoneybrook University, who finished with a record of 24-2, Colorado and Oakland. In their previous two meetings, Oakland dominated IU, winning 8-3 and 7-3. If the Hoosiers are to be successful this week, they will need to put it all on the line, senior captain Bill Ravensberg said. \n"Our team simply needs to play hard," he said. "When we play hard and put together complete games, we are tough to beat. This is especially important now because when you are playing the best teams in the country, it comes down to who wants it more."\nIU coach Rich Holdeman feels the Oakland game will set the tone as to how his team will do throughout the tournament.\n"We are going to have to do a better job of finishing our chances against (Oakland) this time," he said. "If we can get by Oakland, then I think we have a real shot at making the semi-finals. Our draw is tough, but the team is quite capable of beating any of our opponents and we are very optimistic."\nThis week will mark the end for six senior Hoosiers including Tyler Crowley, Pete Johnson, Matt Heseman, Mike Kearns, Ravensberg, and Matt Ritz. The Hoosiers were set to host Northern Illinois last Friday on senior night, but after a cancellation from the Huskies, IU finished out its regular season playing a Red-White exhibition game. Although many players had set their sights on playing the Huskies, Kearns, a four-year member and club president, said he enjoyed his last home game playing against his own teammates.\n"I have so many fond memories over the past four years," he said. "It was disappointing that NIU canceled on us, but the Red-White game was just as good because we got to play against everyone in the club."\nNot only will this week conclude the seniors' careers at IU, but it will also end the time for two Hoosier coaches. Assistant coach Scott Nolting, who has been with the Hoosiers for 14 seasons will be stepping down along with Holdeman, who has amassed 249 victories in his 13 seasons with the team. Although Holdeman knows he will be sad to see his career wrap up at IU, he doesn't have time to worry about that now.\n"We (coaches) have had a good time but our focus is on the national tournament" he said. "I think once the season ends, I'll have more time to reflect on my 13 years as the coach here"