IU splits weekend series with No. 5 Grand Valley State

As AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" blasted from the speakers at the Frank Southern Center in Bloomington Friday night, the IU hockey team skated on to the ice to begin their journey for their first national championship.\nIU split its first series match-up of the season, losing 2-1 Friday and winning 7-4 Saturday, against the No. 5 Grand Valley State Lakers.\nEven though IU outshot GVSU 61-37 Friday, the Hoosiers couldn't put the puck in the net. Penalties and goaltending were the themes of the game as GVSU senior goaltender Chris Moore recorded 60 saves for the Lakers, now 6-2. \nWith a little more than one minute remaining in the first period, GVSU jumped out ahead of the Hoosiers with a goal from sophomore forward Phil Murray past IU senior goaltender Jimmy Hugill. Hugill also had a great game in the net, recording 35 saves for the Hoosiers, who are now 1-1.\nEarly in the second period, IU quickly got on the board and tied the game after senior defenseman Matt Wellington blasted a shot over the left shoulder of Moore. Both teams had several opportunities to score throughout the rest of the game, but neither goaltender allowed anything to pass them.\nWith only three minutes remaining in the contest, GVSU junior defenseman Mike Marquardt scored on a breakaway for his eighth goal of the season to win the defensive struggle. \n"It was a little disappointing, but at the same time, I look at the game and noticed we had 61 shots on goal, which is outstanding," IU head coach Rich Holdeman said. "You have to give credit to their goaltender, who played a phenomenal game, and to their team, who scored when they needed to."\nIU senior forward Reed Schafer said he believes his team just didn't take good enough shots on net.\n"We kept on shooting at the goalie and didn't pick spots to shoot at," he said. "We made the goalie look really good, but he also did have a great night."\nIn game two of the weekend series Saturday, the Hoosiers' offense finally got going, scoring quickly and often. With seven minutes remaining in the first period, Schafer cut in on the Laker defense and slapped the puck in the net for his first goal of the season. With two goals from Schafer and senior forward Pete Johnson, along with goals from seniors Mike Casper, Jon Laughner and Chad Fiala, IU led the game the entire way en route to its first victory of the season. Out shooting the Lakers 48-39, IU was able to effectively capitalize on its opportunities.\n"We realized that we couldn't just rough up our competition on the ice," Johnson said. "We needed to bear down, keep our heads up, pick our corners and take advantage of our opportunities."\nHoldeman said he agreed the Hoosiers seemed more balanced in the team's second game. \n"Guys were a lot more composed, got the puck in front of the net and were able to put the puck where they needed to," Holdeman said.\nShafer believed the biggest difference in the two games was the limited amount of penalties and mistakes from the first game to the second game.\n"Guys have to realize what it takes to make a commitment and if we're taking penalties that are taking our team down, it means you're going to have one less man skating on the ice," Shafer said. "Guys felt more committed, made smarter plays and those little things go a long way to being successful."\nIU takes on Western Michigan University this weekend in Kalamazoo, Mich., having captured both games from the Stallions last season.