IU carries No. 12 win streak into weekend

After winning their last nine games, the Hoosiers are one victory away from tying their all-time record for consecutive games won. \nHowever, the team isn't very concerned about the streak.\n"Absolutely not," IU coach Amy Robertson said when asked if she was thinking about her team's winning streak. "I just think about how we can get better tomorrow and focus on things that require attention."\nRobertson's attention is focused on her team's two home games this weekend. Today, the Hoosiers (9-1, 1-0) will play the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-6, 0-2) at Mellencamp Pavilion. IU will get only a day to rest before it then takes on the undefeated No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0, 1-0) Sunday.\nThe winning streak isn't something Robertson's team has harped on much this season. In fact, it isn't something a few of them even knew about.\nJunior goalie Haley Exner wasn't even aware of the team's proximity to the consecutive games streak until after Wednesday's practice.\n"I just really want to beat Iowa and Ohio State," she said. "The win streak is just kind of a plus."\nLast season, the Hoosiers rewrote their entire record book with a run to the Elite 8 and won 10 straight games from Sept. 9 to Oct. 14. Their streak came to an end last season when Iowa defeated them 2-1 Oct. 22.\n"It's not something we think about or talk about," junior back Erin Isler said. "We just go out and try and find a way to win."\nThe way the Hoosiers will try to win this weekend is by working on the team's fundamentals, not worrying about their opponent, Robertson said.\n"We're really back to some basics and sharpening up on the things we can control," Robertson said. "You can't change everything you want to fix, and I think we're in a good place right now."\nDespite the team's success this year, Robertson has said repeatedly this season that her team hasn't played up to its capability.\n"The best hockey for us is when you see the entire team flow. The ball is moving quickly, we play confident and we make less mistakes and value the ball," she said. "You can see when everyone is on the same wavelength, and we haven't hit that yet."\nThe team's play has remained high, as was evident in last weekend's victories against Northwestern and New Hampshire. Leading the way was All-American senior forward Lydia Schrott, who tallied four goals in two games and scored her 100th career point for the Hoosiers.\nThe Hoosiers have also received strong play of late from their freshman class, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Robertson said freshmen backs Fenna Geuskens and Brittney Hacken have impressed her lately, especially under pressure.\nIU will have plenty of pressure on it this weekend, but the team is excited about the opportunity to face two of the Big Ten's best.\n"I think this weekend we'll really show people what we're capable of," Isler said. "The teams we've played before have been good matchups ... but I think we'll come out strong and show the Big Ten what we can do."\nFor the Hoosiers to play well, they'll have to start well -- which has been difficult for them.\n"We haven't started strong in the first 10 minutes," Exner said of this season's games. "We always have to score and come back, which is a great skill to have, but this weekend we'll need to come out strong and score first."\nRobertson agreed with her goalie's sentiment.\n"We haven't had the whole team on the same page much this year," she said. "It's rare, but I think this weekend would be a good time for this to occur"