IU hockey opens with solid win

IU junior Daniel Keeney intercepted the puck in a shorthanded situation and had a breakaway to the goal in the first period of Indiana’s ice hockey season opener against Dayton. \nTripped by a Dayton defender, he was awarded a penalty shot. Keeney deked the goalie to the right and drilled the puck into the empty net. \nKeeney’s goal, the first goal in IU’s season opener, set the tone for the rest of the penalty-marred game as IU outdistanced the Flyers 7-2 Saturday in front of a hockey-loving crowd at the Hamilton Center Ice Arena in Columbus, Ind. \nAssistant coach Tom Orr, filling in for head coach Al Karlander, was impressed by his team’s ability to capitalize on penalty kills and special teams situations. \nWhen IU was down a player in penalty kill situations, experienced veterans stepped up. Following Feeney’s lead, junior Joe Fornari added another shorthanded goal later in the game to push the score to 3-0. Sophomores Adam Logue and Chris Bartholomew also contributed to killing Dayton’s power play opportunities. \n“It made for exciting hockey, but it wasn’t the standard type of hockey people are used to,” Orr said. “That being said, penalty kills were our strength on Saturday.”\nFreshman goalie and highly regarded recruit Justin Lincoln excelled in his first collegiate hockey game. He produced a shutout through two and a half periods until Dayton scored a shot with nine minutes left in the game.\n“It was nice to see a freshman goalie with that composure and confidence,” Orr said. “It looks like he will be able to help us down the stretch.”\nGoalie play will be critical to the team’s success this season since it lost two seniors to graduation and two sophomores who did not play this season for personal reasons.\nAnd Saturday, it wasn’t all offense for IU, despite the seven goals. The defense, led by seniors Tyson Schroder and Brad Kirchner controlled the puck and transitioned it to the forwards.\n“We played pretty well, considering we were in penalty kills most of the game,” Schroder said. “It was tough with all the new people, because they are harder to read, but overall, everyone really stepped up.”\nFornari added a third period goal to lead the team with two goals for the game. Logue also scored in the third and assisted on two scores. Other scorers were Mike Vaughn, Adam Fishbein and Matt Henderson.\nFriday, IU opens a home-and-home series against Kentucky. After playing in Lexington, the team opens its home schedule at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Frank Southern Ice Arena.\n“Kentucky games are really fun,” Schroder said. “The place in Lexington is absolutely crazy. It’s hard to hear yourself think. Hopefully there will be the same strong home advantage on Saturday in Bloomington.”