Shorthanded squad takes on Ohio State at home

After two physical contests against in-state and conference rival Purdue, the IU club hockey team returns to the ice this weekend with a two-game home stand against Big Ten foe, Ohio State.\nDespite winning both contests against the Boilermakers, the Hoosiers suffered nine suspensions on the weekend following a bench-clearing brawl. With time expiring in the second period, a Purdue defenseman threw an illegal knee out onto IU sophomore Reed Schafer. With Schafer laid out on the ice, the Hoosiers retaliated in an act of team unity to protect their player.\nBut the actions from last Friday's skirmish will have a lingering effect on this weekend's play, as three hard-hitting Hoosiers continue their suspensions during the games against Ohio State. Freshmen Richard Young, Brian Farley and Connor McCarthy face double suspensions for their involvement in the brawl, while Young faces an additional game due to his two previous suspensions.\nSchafer added that Purdue should have expected such a reaction from IU, given the nature of the cheap shot.\n"The whole situation was totally provoked by Purdue," Schafer said. "Sticking a knee out can end someone's career. It's a cowardly move, and although it put us shorthanded, it was good to see the guys stick up for a teammate."\nBut in a weekend overshadowed by Friday night's melee, IU sparked the crowd with solid offensive play from junior David Ravensberg, sophomore Jon Laughner and senior David Dassell. The power-trio of forwards kept the Hoosiers in control and led them to a decisive victory in game two. This weekend, IU hopes to get into more of a rhythm and put big offensive numbers on the board.\nLaughner said the team was happy to come away with a pair of wins, but Ohio State poses a bigger threat. He said the offensive tempo of the game will be the key this weekend.\n"All week we've been working on getting into the flow of the game," Laughner said. "It's one of the important things for us. We like to get into the flow and rattle off three goals in a row."\nAgainst Purdue, the Hoosiers couldn't get into their rhythm, partly because of so much time spent in the penalty box, another focus area for this weekend, according to IU coach Brad Lutsch.\n"It makes things tough when you are forced to finish the game with only five players on the bench," Lutsch said. "We certainly need to focus on cutting down our penalty minutes. But it was good to see how we were able to work through it."\nTwo wins last weekend kept the Hoosiers in third place of the Great Midwest Hockey League, the last slot to advance to Nationals at the end of February. Needing two more wins down the stretch, IU faces off at 9 p.m. Friday at Frank Southern Ice Center Arena and at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.\n-- Contact staff writer Jeff Fuldauer at jfuldaue@indiana.edu.