Ice hockey club drops 2 games, has lost 10 straight

A mixture of high-flying pucks, high sticks and low blows failed to produce yet another win for the IU club ice hockey team, taking it to 4-15 and winless since a shootout win against then-No. 6 Illinois on Oct. 16.

The team lost two games to Robert Morris (Ill.) this weekend, including an overtime thriller that ended when senior Daniel Abramson gave up his fourth goal of the day midway through the extra period, icing the team’s 10th straight loss of the season.

After Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Eagles at Frank Southern Ice Arena, IU looked toward making changes to both its offensive and defensive strategies in hope of performing better the next day.

“We tried changing up and refocusing our guys to certain roles,” coach Jan Jas said. “Our guys that were stronger offensively were assigned to strictly offensive positions in the first period, and we hoped that would get us a better chance to get off to a strong start.”

And that they did.  

IU was the first to score when senior Chris Benz slid the puck past Eagle goalie Dan Venet in the 16th minute of the first period. Junior assistant captain Kyle Yarkie added another goal, assisted by sophomore Kyle Lewis, merely 42 seconds later. IU saw itself with a 2-0 lead, which lasted into the second period, even after Robert Morris had a goal taken away for a high stick penalty.

But the No. 9 Eagles didn’t seem to panic, and what seemed to be a relaxed IU team in the second period, according to Jas, gave up three goals to the Eagles and relinquished the lead before the second period ended.

“We looked too comfortable out there,” Jas said. “I think after we got ahead, we lost our focus, and that proved to be a big turn around in the game.”

The team’s frustration seemed to boil over when, after play had been stopped for a reset, players from both teams began to shove back and forth in what turned into a nearly two-team fight at Robert Morris’s end of the ice. A group of players from both teams began to throw punches, and a one-on-one brawl was taken to the ice just steps behind the referees and out of their sight as they tried to break up the larger scuffle.  

In the end, five players from both teams were sent to the penalty box, including three from IU, and only minutes later, the Eagles used the momentum to take a 3-2 lead.

The outlook seemed bleak as the Eagles kept control of the puck for most of the final period, and any shots that IU had on goal never hit the back of net. But Benz came through with his second goal of the afternoon, assisted by senior KC Madock, tying the game and eventually sending it to overtime.

But Benz and the rest of the Hoosiers weren’t able to keep the momentum going, and midway through the extra period, Abramson failed to block what would be the final goal of the game, ending yet another game where they stayed close to a ranked opponent the entire 60 minutes but just couldn’t seem to pull out a win.

“We really battled,” Jas said. “We got a point out of it, but unfortunately, that’s still not a win.  We’ve got to remember how hard we worked just to make it to overtime, and hopefully that energy will equal a win next time.”

The team takes a break this holiday weekend but the players will lace up their skates at No. 4 Arizona State on Dec. 3 and 4, hoping once again that they can grab an upset win against a highly ranked opponent.

“We know this is our first year in Division I hockey,” Jas said. “We’ve just got to get back to work every day to get stronger and faster, and hopefully we’ll start winning more than we lose.”