League play begins with back-to-back wins for IU

The IU men's hockey team opened league play with two wins to help keep the team at one loss for the season.\nThe Hoosiers faced off against Ferris State University this weekend in Bloomington, winning both games. The team is now 2-0-0 in the Great Midwest Hockey League and 7-1-2 overall. The losses pushed Ferris State to last place in the league with a 0-5-0 record and an overall record of 3-6-2.\nGiven Ferris State's winless record, the Hoosiers came into the weekend with high expectations, junior forward Dan Karlander said.\n"We expected to win both games," Karlander said. "Both games were close at the beginning, but it ended up being solid wins. We should have been able to handle them easier."\nThe Hoosiers were able to score in the first three minutes of Friday's game, then kept the lead the rest of the game. With senior forward Reed Schafer and Karlander's goal and assist each, the Hoosiers were able to capture a 5-2 victory. There was also impressive play from freshman goaltender Logan Tucker, who made 30 saves on 32 shots with both goals coming off power-play opportunities. \nSaturday's game started opposite of Friday's for IU, with Ferris State scoring two minutes into the game. But the Hoosiers weren't fazed by the goal and took a 4-1 lead going into the second period en route to a 7-4 win.\nThe game took a nasty turn nine minutes into the third period, however, when Ferris State forward Kevin Wigren kicked Karlander in the head, an action that automatically resulted in at least a game disqualification and a two-game suspension.\n"The game was pretty much over," Karlander said. "There was a delayed penalty, and he came in and kicked me in the head. He really rung my bell, and he even broke my helmet. It was out of nowhere, and I don't really remember it since it happened so fast. The head ref was trying to get him more than the two games after the game ended."\nDespite the event, the team's depth continued to be the Hoosiers biggest asset on the weekend and the season, senior forward Mark Fischer said.\n"All four forward lines played very well this weekend," Fischer said. "It seemed like every line was able to chip in and help the team out in some way."\nThe Hoosiers look to keep up their perfect league record when they travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., on Friday and Saturday to face off against Davenport University, the only other undefeated team in the league. The games will be played at the Patterson Ice Arena at 8 p.m. and 3 p.m.\n"We are preparing to play two of our toughest games in our league," Karlander said. "We want to go undefeated in our league and (Davenport) is our toughest task. If we can beat them, then we think we can take anyone in our league and the entire nation"