Red-White game kicks off season for club hockey

The IU club ice hockey team kicks off its season at 7 p.m. Friday with the Red-White game. The coaches have divided the squad into two separate teams for the intrasquad exhibition game at Frank Southern Ice Arena in Bloomington.

The game gives the coaches an opportunity to look at their players in action before the regular season starts the next week against Kentucky.

“If you can’t play an opponent, this is the next best game,” IU coach Tom Orr said. “There’s a lot on the line as far as who gets the most playing time.”

The team hopes to replicate the kind of success it had last year, when it advanced all the way to the Division II National Championship game.

“We had a lot of guys last year that took us a long way in the playoffs,” Orr said. “We’re trying to determine what the best line combinations are, and this game will help us determine that, and that is probably the most exciting thing.”

Orr also said the team’s two seniors, Dan Keeney and Adam Fishbein, will get a chance to stand out this year.

“Those two players are definitely showing a lot of leadership,” Orr said. “They are also some of the goal-scorers.”

Following the game Friday, the team will travel to Columbus, Ind., to play another Red-White game for a one-off exhibition event. The team was originally scheduled to play a professional team, but those plans fell through.

In a tune-up for the season, this weekend will not be the only time the Hoosiers will play games on back-to-back days. The majority of their games, in fact, will be Fridays and Saturdays, with one game at IU and the other at the opponents’ arena.

Orr said this arrangement allows both schools to host a game and let fans from both cities see their teams without a down week. He said this type of scheduling is very student-friendly.

It will be a first for Orr as well, as this is his first year as head coach. The past two years, he was the associate head coach, and an assistant before that.

Prior to his coaching career, he played on the IU ice hockey team as a graduate student. He was cut from North Dakota as an undergrad, but was able to play again when he came to IU.

“I got the chance to come here and resurrect a career,” he said. “And to be a coach is even more rewarding. It’s been fun.”

Orr said he hopes the games this weekend will help prepare the team for its season-opener against Kentucky.

“I think they’re really prepared for it,” he said. “They know they need to work hard and their heads are in the right place.”