Club ice hockey team drops two games following suspension

After the end of its 10-day suspension from the IU Club Sports Federation for tryout and practice violations, the IU club ice hockey team traveled to Ames, Iowa for what would be the first team activity since two losses to Illinois.

The players dusted off their skates, hit the ice preparing to shake off the rust of their
10-day layaway.

“The guys were really anxious to get out again,” coach Jan Jas said. “We were excited to be able to get back to work and hopefully grab a few wins before the long Christmas break.”

Yet, with the dust and the rust, the Hoosiers fell twice to an Iowa State team ranked No. 12 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings. IU lost 7-1 Friday and 5-3 the following day.

Friday, IU was able to stay within fighting distance of the Cyclones for the first period, ending the match down only 2-1. Senior KC Madock scored in the 12th minute following two quick Iowa State goals to start the game.

The Cyclones took control as IU showed a lack of offensive power, and IU senior goalie Daniel Abramson allowed five more goals.

Iowa State outshot IU 40-28 and had fewer men in the penalty box (6-4).

“We really struggled in basic battles against Iowa State,” Jas said. “Our guys were able to keep their conditioning up on their own and were still in shape, but our rust on one-on-one battles and positioning really showed.”

Though the Hoosiers did leave Iowa with another loss the following Saturday, their
second performance showed more promise for a team struggling to pick up wins against top-ranked opponents week in and week out.

The Cyclone offense continued to make Abramson work from the previous evening, putting 18 shots on goal within in the first period and capitalizing on two of them. This left IU at a 2-0 deficit after only one period.

But IU would not let Iowa State dominate, and the team began to battle their way back as the second period began.

Abramson gave up yet another goal in the fifth minute of the period, but Madock carried momentum from his goal in the previous night’s game and scored two more in the ninth and 12th minutes, respectively, leaving the Hoosiers only one goal behind with 20 minutes to play.

However, Abramson gave up two more goals in the sixth and eighth minutes of the final period, and even though the Hoosiers added a late goal in the closing minutes, it proved futile against a solid Cyclone offense.

With two weekend games against Robert Morris (Ill.) this weekend, the Hoosiers entered practice this week focusing on the fundamentals that caused them to come up short twice against the Cyclones.

“We’ve been working hard on battle drills, putting the guys one-on-one with each other to try and get our positioning back,” Jas said. “We need to work on practicing with the right habits before this weekend, and I think we’ll be ready to go.”