Seniors take ice for last time, make run at tourney

After roller-coaster careers, three seniors will skate at Franklin Southern Ice Arena for the last time as Hoosiers on Friday night against Kentucky.

Dan Keeney, Adam Fishbein and Keith Koorsen will be competing in their last home game and will be honored in a ceremony before the first puck of the Senior Night match is dropped.

Festivities for Senior Night will begin with at 7 p.m. hog roast and will include a 25-person band ensemble taken from the IU Marching Hundred.

IU hasn’t had the caliber of season as it has become accustomed to in recent years, tallying a 13-15 record. But coach Tom Orr said he hopes his Hoosiers peak at the right time and make a second straight appearance in the AHCA Division II National Championship.

“We have a small but impressive group of seniors for senior night,” Orr said. “We focus on being in shape and set our training plan out so they aren’t too worn out. We have this cultured into our staff – while other teams want the season to end at this point, we want this part of the season to get started.”

The Hoosiers have played a tough schedule in preparation for a long postseason, which has worked well for them in recent years.

Last season, the team made what the players called a “Cinderella run” through the tournament that ended with a 5-2 loss in the championship game against conference-rival Davenport.

“Last year was the top hockey experience in my life,” Keeney said. “We started clicking, and everyone came together. I think we have a similar makeup from last year, and we are definitely a team that can play with anyone in the country. The good thing about the tournament is that nothing matters from the season.”

Keeney was much praised by his coach.

“Dan is an exciting fan favorite that we will miss,” Orr said. “He has great hands and pulls off SportsCenter-like highlights, as he always matches up with great players.”

Keeney currently leads the team in total points – a combination of assists and goals – with 27. Another senior being honored this weekend is Koorsen, a pass-first forward who has as many assists as goals this season at seven.

“Keith is a great team player who is very scrappy,” Orr said. “You can always count on him to set people up and make plays.”

The final senior being honored is Fishbein, whom his temmates selected as captain at the beginning of the year. Fishbein has not disappointed them with eight goals and 14 assists.

Orr said the nod Fishbein received from his teammates was a great honor.

“It means a lot to be voted captain and get empowerment from them,” explained Orr. “He has always handled himself well and is always pushing himself to better the team. You can’t have enough guys like that.”

Fishbein explained his strategy for the final postseason push as trying “to lead through actions, displaying what I do on the ice and get the team to contribute their efforts as well.”

The Hoosiers will need their captain to push them through the most tumultuous point of their schedule to date if they are to seek a repeat performance from last season.

“We can win or lose any game by a small margin,” Orr said, “but teams definitely don’t want to see us late in their schedule.”