Hockey team has strong weekend with easy sweep of Kentucky

A team that sticks together until the last second distances itself from the rest of the pack. This was quite evident this past weekend for the IU Ice Hockey club which had two tough contests against the Kentucky Cool Cats. \nThe first game took place after Senior Night at Frank Southern Ice Arena, and the team did not disappoint in its final home game of the season. With the score 3-1 in IU’s favor heading into the third period, senior forward Dan Karlander knew his team needed to finish the game strong. \n“Early in the season we had trouble closing out games,” Karlander said. “We had a cold streak that included four ties, and we had leads with two minutes left in the final period (in each game).” \nA confident IU squad emerged onto the ice for the third period.\n“Once we had the 6-1 lead, we never really looked back,” Karlander said. “We were able to capitalize on the quick goals.”\nThe team then traveled to Lexington, Ky. for a rematch against the Cool Cats at midnight Saturday. Sophomore forward Adam Logue stressed that the late game was no different than any other. \n“Our tempo was still upbeat, and everyone was fired up,” Logue said. “I personally was a lot more excited because it was something different.”\nA raucous Kentucky crowd packed the arena on its senior night to put IU on a daunting stage.\n“Playing at UK isn’t easy,” said sophomore forward Joe Fornari. “It’s a very hostile environment.” \nThe intimidating and aggressive circumstances, however, did not hold IU back. Less than 30 seconds into the contest, Fornari started the game with a bang by scoring to silence the crowd. After a power-play goal and a rebound goal by Kentucky, IU found itself on the wrong side of momentum. The team responded with a quick goal from Logue just before intermission to make the score 3-2.\nThe team nearly duplicated its success from the night before by cashing in on two early goals in the beginning of the third period. Senior forward Sam Adler netted the first to make it 3-3, and sophomore forward Brandon Dornish scored the go-ahead goal. An open net score by senior forward Matt Henderson solidified the victory. \nKentucky had plenty of chances to rebound but stingy defense and a focused mindset allowed IU to hold on and win 5-3. Logue said the team took a lot more away from the victory than a ‘W.’\n“We took away the fact that we grew as a team to show that we can score three uncontested goals in the final period,” Logue said. “It was huge.” \nIU remained undefeated in February to give it momentum going into this weekend’s ACHA Division II National Championship Regionals, played in Rockville, Md. Two wins will qualify IU for the National Championships in Fort Myers, Fla. But first, the team will take its 16-9-4 record to Kennesaw State, a team IU is unfamiliar with, Karlander said.\n“We don’t know much about them, but we can’t overlook them,” Karlander said. “We ended the regular season on a roll, and our season comes down to this. Our backs are against the wall.”