Club Hockey: Team hopes to skate into championship game for fourth time, net a win

Coming off a 22-win season and earning a No. 1 seed in the southeast region of the 2005 American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Championships held in Rochester, Mich., the IU hockey team is set for another run at a national championship.\nThat run begins 9 p.m. Friday at the Frank Southern Center, where IU takes on Grand Valley State. \nWith 15 players returning from last year's team, including junior forward Chad Fiala (40 assists last season) and sophomore forward Dan Karlander (30 goals last season), the goal for the team is winning the national championship. The team has been to the championship game three times but has never come away with the title.\nSenior forward Reed Schafer, who led the team with 37 goals and 42 assists, thinks this year's team has a great shot at its first-ever title.\n"We have the main core of the team this year with a couple of fresh faces but a lot of returning guys," Schafter said. "We have a well-rounded team and a great chance to win the national championship."\nSenior winger Matt Ritz, who played in 29 games for IU last season, said the expectations are higher for the team this year.\n"Because of our experience and what we are capable of, our goal is for nothing less than a national championship," he said. "We probably have the most explosive offense in the league. Every line could score."\nLast season, IU averaged 5.8 goals per game, including a 14-goal win against Purdue and an 11-1 victory against Dayton. However, the biggest focus for IU this season is on the defensive side.\n"Our goals against average was too high and that's what limited us in terms of how far we went last season," IU coach Rich Holdeman said. "The real question mark this season is whether we can keep the puck out of our net because it's tough to score six, seven goals a game to win every time." \nWith all the experience on this year's team, Holdeman thinks it will benefit the younger players' learning process.\n"We have a lot of (veterans) on the team so guys are picking up some of the stuff we've been working on defensively pretty quickly," Holdeman said. "We have a number of players who have been here for a number of years and that just makes a tremendous difference with maturity and knowing what to expect to help the other guys on the team out."\nTeam president and senior forward Mike Kearns also thinks the key to the season is how well it can play defense, but he believes the team is starting to adjust to some of the new tactics it has been working on, and is ready to start the season.\n"As long as we can keep our defense strong, we're going to win a lot of games," he said. "We know the systems now and we're ready to jump into the season."\nAs participants of the Great Midwest Hockey League, IU has its hands full with some of the toughest competition in the nation, including Oakland University, who won the national championship in 2004, and Michigan State who captured the crown last season.\n"It's a pretty tough, competitive league we're in, and every game is up for grabs," Schafer said. "Every team in our league is capable of winning the national championship."\nThrough many months of off-season conditioning, including running the stairs at Memorial Stadium, daily weight room activities and long hours at practices, the IU hockey team feels ready to skate for another successful season.\n"I think we've got a head start in team meshing compared to other years," Schafer said. "We're looking to having a hard-working, committed, nasty team"