IU extends home winning streak to six

There’s no place like home.\nFor the IU ice hockey team, home – the Frank Southern Ice Arena – has helped revive the team’s season. \nIU (14-9-4) added two home wins against Michigan this past weekend to stretch its late-season winning streak to six games. The team won 5-1 Friday night and 7-3 Saturday afternoon. \nAll six of the games during the winning streak have been played at the “Frank,” a rink that is smaller than a normal regulation rink.\nFreshman defenseman Chris Benz said the home stand could not have come at a better time, as the team’s record had slipped under .500 in early January after starting the season 5-0.\n“I think it’s good that we’re on a win streak at the end of the season,” Benz said. “Obviously, it will carry us into the playoffs with a lot of confidence.”\nThe team can add one more win to its home streak this weekend against Kentucky, a team they’ve already beaten twice early in the season. After playing Friday night in Bloomington, IU will travel to Lexington, Ky., for a midnight game Saturday.\nThe Kentucky Cool Cats (20-9-2) are not the same team that IU swept in October. They are riding a 12-game winning streak and have yet to lose in 2008. Two of those wins came against Ferris State, a team that beat IU earlier this year.\nThe games will serve as a last chance for IU and Kentucky to improve on their regional rankings. Both teams compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Southeast region. The top 10 teams advance to the regional playoffs. IU, ranked No. 7 in the Jan. 27 rankings, will most likely qualify for the playoffs, and the Cool Cats are holding onto the No. 10 spot.\nSophomore forward Joe Fornari said he expects tough competition.\n“They’re a good team and it’s our last regular season game before the playoffs, so we need to do well,” he said.\nThis past weekend, IU improved its Greater Midwest Hockey League standing with two wins against Michigan (14-14-0), a divisional opponent. After opening division play with a 0-6-4 record, four of IU’s wins during its current winning streak are against GMHL opponents. In Friday’s game, Benz scored two goals to lead the team. His second period goal pushed the lead to 3-1, and IU held onto the lead through the rest of the game.\n“Friday’s game was important to us,” Benz said. “We had to get our record up. If we didn’t get two points (in the standings) Friday night, we would have dug ourselves into a hole for the Saturday game.”\nIU completed the sweep the following day. After a Michigan goal began the game, IU scored six straight to put the game out of reach by the end of the second period. Fornari scored two of the first six goals and added a third period goal for his first hat trick of the season.\n“Any time we can sweep a team is great,” Fornari said. “Getting a win on Friday is great, but it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t finish them off on Saturday.”