Alumni game brings in stars from the past

Before the regular season starts in January, the IU club hockey team will compete in at least one exhibition game to help them stay fresh.

The team will play an alumni game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Frank Southern Ice Arena. Current and former players will face off in a full, 60-minute game.

Former forward Matt Henderson played from 2003 to 2008. The former assistant captain will put on the skates for IU for the first time since losing in the national championship game against Davenport last season.

“It’s going to be a great time to get back on the ice at the Frank,” Henderson said. “The thing most of us are looking forward to is just getting back together in the locker room with the guys we played with four years ago and haven’t seen since some of us graduated.”

Henderson’s career highlight was playing in the championship.

“It was something we worked toward for five seasons,” Henderson said. “I will never forget the guys I played with that season. It was a great group of guys that worked hard and battled through adversity game in and game out, and I can’t wait to get on the ice with them again this weekend.”

Alumnus Dan Karlander was one of the most successful players in the club’s history, winning the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II Player of the Year award last season. He played for the Hoosiers for four years prior to this season and earned a degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business.

While Henderson and Karlander will be playing in their first alumni games, alumnus Justin Hendricks knows what to expect. Still, the forward from 1994 to 1998 isn’t any less excited.

“It’s a great opportunity to get back inside the old barn, catch up with friends, make new ones and reconnect with the program,” Hendricks said.

Current IU coach Tom Orr will also suit up against his players. Orr played at IU for three years before becoming an assistant coach last year.

“It’s going to be lots of fun,” Orr said. “We will be a little out of shape, but we have some talent so I think we will give them some competition.”

Orr said his decision to play will fire up the players on the current team.

“If some old men can beat them, they will be in for some teasing, so the pressure is really on them,” Orr said.

Henderson said he is confident about the alumni team’s chances.

“We, the alumni, know that we are going to beat the 2008-2009 team,” he said.
Regardless of the outcome, Karlander is thrilled to come back and play.

“It’s a great tradition that allows people to get back in touch,” Karlander said. “I haven’t seen some of these guys in years, and they are flying back from all over the country for this. It is a great way to keep the alumni involved.”