Hockey looks to rebound against league foe Ohio State

Most of the time, players and coaches don’t like talking about moral victories.\nHowever, two weekend losses against an undefeated Illinois squad ranked No. 1 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division I poll count as moral victories, senior forward Matt Henderson said.\n“Moral victories aren’t always the best thing, especially when you’re looking for a win. But when you play a team like Illinois, I think it shows we played well and are showing signs of improvement,” he said.\nThe IU ice hockey team (8-8-3), which competes at the Division II level in the ACHA, was shut out 2-0 Friday night by the Illini (17-0-0) and lost by the same margin the next day 5-3.\nThis weekend, the team returns to Greater Midwest Hockey league play in a weekend series at Ohio State. IU will be looking for its first league win to hold onto its No. 5 ranking, one spot above Ohio State, in the Division II Southeast region polls.\n“These might be the most important games of our season,” said Henderson. “We need to be competitive in our league and put ourselves in the best position for the national tournament.”\nOn Friday night, IU played Illinois to a scoreless tie through the first two periods. Sophomore goalie Sal Calace stopped 12 shots on goal in the first period while the offense was readjusting to game play. The team had not played a game since Dec. 8. IU managed only three shots on goal in the first period.\n“It took two periods for the offense to get on track,” IU coach Al Karlander said. “Our defense played great and kept us in the game. And even though we couldn’t score, our offense was able to control the puck and contributed to our defense’s play.”\nThe Illini’s Jason Nemeth broke the tie with six minutes remaining while the teams were skating 4-on-4. They added another open net goal at the end of the game to secure the 2-0 victory.\n“It was really a 1-0 game, if you don’t count that open net goal,” Karlander said. “Our offense didn’t play at an ‘A’ level, but our defense definitely did.” \nIU has struggled on the defensive end this season, allowing 3.7 goals a game. The team had not held an opponent to two goals or less since an Oct. 12 game against Illinois’ Division II-level team.\nThe following day, both offenses played sharper. The Illini capitalized on three power play situations in the first and second periods and added one other goal to push the lead to 4-0. Henderson scored IU’s first goal of the weekend in a short-handed situation to put the score at 4-1 going into the final period.\nDespite goals from Henderson and sophomore forward Joe Fornari, the Illini held off the late rush to win 5-3.\nThe only player that might have not shown rust during the Illinois games was senior captain Dan Karlander. Chosen to play on a Division II Select Team, he went on a whirlwind European hockey tour over winter break. The team went 5-0 against professional and semi-professional teams from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. Karlander contributed immediately, scoring a goal and an assist in the first game.\n“It was a great learning experience to play against the European teams and also learn about the other programs that my teammates play on across the United States,” he said.