IU club hockey gunning for Michigan at Ann Arbor

The IU club hockey team will take on Michigan this weekend and look to put last weekend’s tough losses at Davenport behind them.

After winning their first six games of the season, IU now sits at 6-2. The team is still winless in the Great Midwest Hockey League.

The contention between IU and Michigan is just as intense in hockey as in other sports.

“Michigan is another team we have a lot of history with,” IU coach Tom Orr said. “We know they’re going to be hungry. They’re going to be ready for us.”

Orr said IU knocked Michigan out of the nationals last year and the victory propelled the Hoosiers into the championship game.

After the Hoosiers ousted them last year, Orr said he knows Michigan will be out to settle the score.

“There’s a lot of tension there, so this is going to be an outstanding rivalry,” he said. “Any time Michigan plays Indiana in anything, it’s a big matchup.”

With Michigan eyeing revenge, IU will be looking for its first win in the conference.

“Right now, we’re 0-2 in the conference; the best way to get back to .500 is to win both games,” Orr said. “We traditionally match up real well (against Michigan).”

Junior Brandon Dornish knows how important games are in conference play.

“Every game, once you get in league play, is important,” he said. “Every point matters.”

Every point will matter this week since hockey is so important in Michigan. Orr said they have a Division I hockey team, and sometimes players from that team end up on the Division II team, strengthening them against their opponents.

Orr said it’s important for the Hoosiers to have a good week of practice leading up to the games.

“We learned a lot about ourselves last week at Davenport,” said senior Keith Koorsen. “We need to basically come out there and show them what it’s all about.”

Freshman Mack Shaughnessy agreed.

“It’s really important to come out strong after a rough weekend,” he said. “It was definitely two hard losses, but I think it just makes us understand how hard we need to work.”

Shaughnessy said he thinks the rivalry between the two schools will heat up this weekend.

“I’d say it’s going to be an intense game,” he said. “Michigan’s always been a hockey school, but I think it will be more intense for us because of the weekend we came off of.”