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(04/04/11 1:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After finishing 15th Saturday in the MountainView Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., the team’s worst finish of the season, the IU women’s golf team will try to rebound as it is host to its lone tournament of the season Monday and Tuesday, the Indiana Invitational, at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind.In Tucson, the team had just one round out of the 15 the girls completed that was under par. Sophomore Kate Coons shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round to tie for 36th along with freshman Lindsay Gahm. Coons, Gahm and the rest of the team finished 50 strokes behind tournament winner Iowa State, which had a team-total of 857 in the 54-hole tournament.But coach Clint Wallman is confident that his team will bounce back on its home turf. Wallman will be playing two five-girl rosters in the tournament, as well as playing sophomore Kylee Wierks as an individual in the 13-team field to help him see who’s playing coming into the postseason. The team won the Indiana Invitational last year when it was at the IU Golf Course and finished sixth at Otter Creek in 2009.Wallman, though, said playing on a home course sometimes puts too much pressure on his players and that this may be one of their biggest obstacles.“The biggest thing that happens when you’re hosting your own invitational is placing too many expectations on yourself because it is a ‘home invitational,’ because you supposedly know the golf course,” Wallman said on the team’s website. “Our challenge is going to be just playing it as we would play any other tournament.”
(03/28/11 2:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After the IU women’s golf team left the course Friday in 15th place in the MountainView Invitational after two rounds at the MountainView Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz., the squad finished in the same spot Friday. The Hoosiers posted a final round score of 296 and 8-over par, after rounds of 300 and 311 Saturday.The Hoosiers (907) finished 50 shots back of tournament-winner Iowa State (857), which finished at seven-under par with four players in the top 20.IU sophomore Kate Coons and freshman Lindsay Gahm both led the team for the tournament, both tying for 36th. Coons had the best round of the tournament for IU, shooting a 69 in Saturday’s final round, the team’s only under-par round of the tournament. Coon’s 69 was her season-best round and tied for her career-low round as a Hoosier golfer.Gahm finished the tournament with a final-round 76, after rounds of 72 and 75 Friday, giving her a tournament-total of 223.“I felt like the girls did some really good things this weekend and showed a lot of effort,” IU coach Clint Wallman said. “Kate had a great round with her 69, but we just really didn’t have the consistency from top to bottom.”
(03/28/11 1:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team failed to move up the leaderboard in the second day of the Border Olympics at Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas, after finishing the first day in fifth place. The Hoosiers would finish in seventh with a team total of 856, 8-under par for the tournament.IU finished 24 strokes behind team champion Arkansas, who finished at 32-under par, edging out second-place Oklahoma by five strokes.Junior Chase Wright, after shooting 2-over in the tournament’s first round Friday, surged in the final two rounds en route to tie for eighth place, his fourth top-ten finish this season. Wright shot rounds of 67 and 69 in the final rounds for a total of 210, 13 shots back of the leader and 6-under par.Sophomore Brant Peaper was the only other Hoosier golfer to shoot under-par in the tournament’s final round, carding a team-best 68 in the final day. This strong final round pushed Peaper, who finished tied for 35th, 27 places up the leader board from Friday’s end after he shot a 77 and a 72 to finish tied for 62nd. Junior David Erdy finished the tournament tied for 21st with 214 after finishing Friday tied with Wright for the team lead at 3-under. Erdy carded a final round 73.“It was rough coming off the NIT with less than 24 hours in Bloomington before we left again for Texas,” IU coach Mike Mayer said. “Our guys really played mediocre and just weren’t quite clicking on all cylinders, but it’s great to be back home as we prepare to win the Indiana Invitational for the third-straight year.”
(03/25/11 3:38am)
In the past, the Hoosiers have seen success in the Mountain View Invitational, including winning the team title in 2008 and producing individual champions in 2007 (Elaine Harris) and 2008 (Lauren Harling).
(03/25/11 3:34am)
The No. 28-ranked IU squad, according to the latest Golfweek-Sagarin rankings, will compete in a 19-team field, including No. 18 Arkansas, No. 26 Oklahoma, No. 32 Liberty and No. 37 North Texas, according to the March 20 Golfweek rankings.
(03/23/11 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a monthlong tournament layoff, the No. 30 IU men’s golf team traveled to Tucson, Ariz., to play in the National Invitational Tournament at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday in an attempt to extend its three stroke-play tournament winning streak.Unfortunately for IU, even with a strong final round of two-over 290, the team couldn’t continue the streak, ending the day where it began, tied for fourth place with a team total of 882.After playing the par 72 Catalina course in its first 18 holes Monday, IU, the highest-ranked team in the field according to Golfstat.com, stood in sixth place after shooting a 15-over team round of 303. Junior David Erdy and freshman David Mills each shot 74 in round one to lead the Hoosiers. Junior Chase Wright shot 77, and after coming off his win in the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate in February, sophomore Brant Peaper finished last of the four scoring players for IU.But the team made up some ground in the second round on the par 70 Sonoran course. After 17 holes in the late round Monday, the Hoosiers were tied for fourth and stood at 10-over for the second round. After play was halted Monday night due to darkness with just a hole to play for each IU golfer, the team left the course just nine strokes behind current leaders Southern Methodist, No. 46 Tulsa and tournament host Arizona.Before its 8 a.m. shotgun start Tuesday, the team finished the second round with a nine-over 289, eight shots behind the trio tied at 16-over par.Yet, under-par final rounds by Erdy and Peaper on Tuesday still couldn’t make up enough ground to catch either SMU or Arizona, and Tulsa ran away with the title, posting a team total five-under 283 final round with three players a combined 10-under par.Erdy finished tied for eighth after his final round one-under 71, shooting a three-round total of 216 (74-71-71), marking his fifth top-10 finish of the season. Peaper finished with a final round 70, landing him tied for 17th with 221 (78-73-70). Peaper made just one bogey in his final round, along with three birdies. Mills followed, tied for 23rd (222) with a final round 74.Sophomore Kyle Perry’s final round 75 was the first of his to count toward the team score in the tournament, and Perry finished tied for 57th with 230 (79-76-75).
(03/21/11 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s golf team posted its best finish of the year Wednesday, tieing for second in the Lumberjack Shootout at Wigwam golf course in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Senior Lauren Giesecke led the team with a career performance in her first tournament of the season.“I have mixed emotions,” IU coach Clint Wallman said on the team’s website. “We gave ourselves a chance and played well for the most part. We just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities we gave ourselves down the stretch. But I think it is a good thing because it gives us (an) idea of what we need to do and major areas we need to work on coming down the stretch.”Giesecke finished tied for seventh place, shooting a career-best 218 total for the tournament, including a career-low round of 71 Tuesday. Freshman Lindsay Gahm finished tied for 19th after she posted an even-par 72 after a tough second round where she shot 78.Junior Kristtini Cain (76-73-76) and sophomore Kate Coons (74-74-77) each finished just one stroke back of Gahm with 225 in a tie for 26th. Sophomore Jacqueline Yanch finished Wednesday with a 79 and a three-day total of 228 (76-71-79), putting her in a tie for 34th.The team will again travel to Arizona for its next tournament where it will compete in the Mountain View Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Tucson, Ariz.
(02/24/11 5:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After going into the final 18 holes of competition Tuesday in the Central District Invitational in 13th place, the IU women’s golf team held suit and defended its position, finishing 13th with a final round score of 299, the team’s best single-round total this spring.The team began the tournament Monday at the River Wilderness Country Club in Parrish, Fla., playing two 18-hole rounds the first day. IU coach Clint Wallman said he saw promise in the team’s first round of play when it shot 304, but then it made some mistakes and faltered into an afternoon round of 312.“It was an up-and-down day,” Wallman said in a press release. “I thought they did good job in the first round to battle back after a bad start. They were able to grind out a decent round. I felt good heading into the second round, but we didn’t execute and made compound errors.”No. 1 golfer Lindsay Gahm led the second-day charge, moving up the board from 22nd to tie for 15th, posting two-under 70 in the final round. The freshman ended Monday’s play with two rounds of 75 but improved her final round to continue her streak of five top-25 finishes this season.Junior Kristtini Cain followed Gahm in a tie for 41st after she improved upon her Monday rounds of 76 and 79. Cain shot a 1-over 73 the final round for a total of 228.Senior Cecilia Orevik finished four strokes back in a tie for 55th with a final score of 232 (76-77-79). The team now has three weeks off from competition before it travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the Lumberjack Shootout.
(02/23/11 9:12pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After going into the final 18 holes of competition Tuesday in the Central District Invitational in 13th place, the IU women’s golf team held suit and defended its position, finishing 13th with a final round score of 299, the team’s best single-round total this spring.The team began the tournament Monday at the River Wilderness Country Club in Parrish, Fla., playing two 18-hole rounds the first day. IU coach Clint Wallman said he saw promise in the team’s first round of play when it shot 304, but then it made some mistakes and faltered into an afternoon round of 312.“It was an up-and-down day,” Wallman said in a press release. “I thought they did good job in the first round to battle back after a bad start. They were able to grind out a decent round. I felt good heading into the second round, but we didn’t execute and made compound errors.”No. 1 golfer Lindsay Gahm led the second-day charge, moving up the board from 22nd to tie for 15th, posting two-under 70 in the final round. The freshman ended Monday’s play with two rounds of 75 but improved her final round to continue her streak of five top-25 finishes this season.Junior Kristtini Cain followed Gahm in a tie for 41st after she improved upon her Monday rounds of 76 and 79. Cain shot a 1-over 73 the final round for a total of 228.Senior Cecilia Orevik finished four strokes back in a tie for 55th with a final score of 232 (76-77-79). The team now has three weeks off from competition before it travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., for the Lumberjack Shootout.
(02/23/11 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team left Hilton Head, S.C., and the Wexford Plantation Golf Course on Tuesday with more hardware than the team has won all season. Led by sophomore Brant Peaper, the team ended with a three-round total of 877, as the Hoosiers won by 12 shots against runner-up William & Mary.The team managed to continue its streak of three stroke-play tournament wins, and Peaper took home medalist honors as well, the first Hoosier to do so this year.IU entered the final round Tuesday just two strokes behind then-tournament leader William & Mary (587). The Hoosiers started off strong Monday with a team total of 289 in the first 18 holes but failed to keep their momentum going in the afternoon play, shooting 300 as a team and 589 for the day.“We got off to a really good start yesterday and had a little bit of a letdown in the afternoon, but it’s great to come out today and get the job done,” IU coach Mike Mayer said in a press release.But every Hoosier finished strong in the final round Tuesday, posting all five individual scores under 75, led by Peaper, who shot a 2-under 70 in his final round to take the individual title. He finished the tournament with 13 birdies, a tournament high, en route to a seven-shot victory which was his first individual title as a Hoosier.Junior Chase Wright followed Peaper, tying for fourth with a final round of 73 and a three-round total of 221. Junior David Erdy also cracked the top 10, finishing with an even-par round of 72 to end up in eighth place with 223.Freshman David Mills rebounded after a second round-80 to finish with a 73 Tuesday to tie him for 14th. The No. 34 Hoosiers, according to Golfstat.com, will now take a month off from competition until the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz, March 21-22.
(02/14/11 2:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The No. 7 seeded IU men’s golf team met its match against No. 4 seed Northwestern in the championship match. The defeat came after a decisive 6-0 sweep of No. 10 seed Wisconsin in the first round and two upsets of No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed Ohio State in the Big Ten Match Play Championship.The Hoosiers fell 4-2 to the Wildcats on Saturday to give Northwestern its second straight title.Through the first two rounds, the Hoosiers played strong, with every player contributing at least one point between the team’s two victories. Freshman David Mills, sophomores Brant Peaper and Corey Ziedonis and junior David Erdy all won their matches in the first two rounds, contributing eight of the Hoosiers’ 10 points and winning by a combined 35 holes.Yet Mills and Ziedonis were the only ones who could keep their winning ways going through the final two rounds, each earning one-up victories against Northwestern and providing the only two points the team won in the finals. Both players finished the tournament with 4-0 records.The Hoosiers needed every point they could get in the Ohio State match. IU tied the Buckeyes 3-3 after six rounds of golf, but the Hoosiers were able to pull out the win in a tiebreaker.However, IU failed to capitalize on two late-round surges by Erdy and Peaper in the championship match. Peaper led for most of his match against Nick Losole III until he pulled even with four holes remaining. Two birdies on 17 and 18 by Losole clinched the match for Northwestern, dropping Peaper’s tournament record to 2-2.Erdy, also 2-2 on the weekend, failed to capitalize on his late-round surge. He came within one stroke with one hole left to play after falling behind five holes with eight remaining.— Nathan Brown
(02/11/11 4:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team will travel back to Florida this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Match Play Championship at the PGA National Champions Course in Palm Beach, Fla. The Hoosiers began their spring with a decisive win against Ball State in the Big Red Shootout on Feb. 5.Though ranked in the top 33 in the nation by Golfstat.com, according to its Nov. 18 rankings, IU holds the seventh seed and will play No. 10 seed Wisconsin in its opening match Saturday. The winner will then move on to face No. 2 Iowa in the quarterfinals.
(02/11/11 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a three-month tournament layoff where a majority of practices occurred indoors, the IU women’s golf team is back in action this weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.Purdue will be the host of the tournament, and will feature an 18-team field that will include seven ranked teams such as No. 1 Alabama and defending NCAA national champion Purdue.But the unranked IU team will look to improve upon its 5th-place finish in the Challenge at Onion Creek in Austin, Texas — the team’s last tournament of the fall and best finish of the season.“I think you’re going to see a much different team than what we had in the fall,” IU coach Clint Wallman said. “We’re going into a pretty loaded field (in Puerto Rico), but I expect us to play smart, be very efficient with our strokes and keep our attention on the intention.”— Nathan Brown
(02/07/11 2:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>More than 1,000 miles away from blustery Bloomington where snowflakes fell by the inches, the IU men’s golf team began its spring season Saturday by defeating Ball State in the Big Red Shootout at Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples, Fla.In the morning rounds, the Hoosiers failed to lose a single match.Junior Chase Wright and sophomores Brant Peaper, Corey Ziedonis and Kyle Perry won their morning matches, all claiming victories before the final hole. Wright and Peaper closed out their opponents with two holes left, but the surprise of the day, according to IU coach Mike Mayer, was the play of Ziedonis, who won his morning match after only 14 holes.“Corey had probably the best performance of any match we played all day,” Mayer said. “He was our shining star.”Co-captain Wright and the rest of the team members played strong behind him, matching their four morning wins with four in the afternoon. Wright followed up his win in the morning matches with a defeat of Ball State’s No. 1 player, senior Eric Steger, while they were without co-captain David Erdy, who was playing in an amateur event.“Chase was really strong for us. He just really was determined not to lose,” Mayer said. “That was a big thing to do without Erdy.”With the depth his team displayed Saturday, Mayer still has the burden of deciding which player will be the fifth man on the competing roster. But he stands assured of one thing.“Ball State is a good team, but we thumped them pretty good,” Mayer said. “We thumped them, we left no doubt on the golf course.”
(02/04/11 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team will travel to Fort Meyers, Fla., for its first
tournament of the spring in the Big Red Shootout against Ball State on
Saturday.
The team’s first taste of competitive golf was scheduled to be in the
Big Ten Match Play Championship in Palm Beach, Fla., from Feb. 11-12.
But on Jan. 10, coach Mike Mayer announced the Hoosiers would be
traveling to Fort Meyers for a tune-up match before they get into Big
Ten play.
Because of low temperatures and snow that covered the IU Golf Course,
the squad was forced to hit into nets indoors in the Gladstein
Fieldhouse.
“It’s been pretty tough because we’re hitting balls into a net, but me
and [David] Erdy know how good we can be,” junior Chase Wright said.
Erdy and Wright led IU in the fall, sitting atop the No. 1 and 2 spots
on the team, respectively. Freshman David Mills and sophomore Brant
Peaper round out the top four, and all four have been ranked in the top
200 collegiate golfers, according to Golfweek.com.
But the Hoosiers will be without Erdy this weekend because he is
scheduled to play in the Jones Cup, one of the top amateur golf events
in the country, Mayer said. In his absence, Mayer said he hopes to find
prospects for a “five guy” for their five-man competing roster.
“We’re ahead of the game, I think, in our guys one to four, and that’s
what fall and spring does for you,” Mayer said. “But we need someone to
step up and play five as well. We’re going to give some guys a chance to
prove that they want to be in that position.”
(01/27/11 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>They practice five days a week for two hours at a time.They shoot at a white net and practice their fundamentals in the gym.One of the Hoosier basketball teams? No, these are the practice conditions for the IU women’s golf team, which begins its season Feb. 13 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.Due to the winter weather that covered Bloomington with inches of snow during the previous weeks, the team has yet to practice outside since its last tournament in the fall.Despite the weather that has plagued large parts of the country, IU coach Clint Wallman said these harsh weather conditions won’t hold the team back in Puerto Rico.“The weather across the country has been pretty rugged, and I’m sure there are some teams out there playing a little or hitting balls,” Wallman said. “But for us, we can work on things that are really fundamental and very important like putting, grip, stance and posture. Fundamentals like putting are what is rustiest when you come out of winter, but it’s the fastest area where we can gain shots too.”In the span of four or five days during a tournament week, the team travels, plays a practice round and plays with three rounds of competition. The grind of the schedule has taken some getting used to for the team. In the fall, the Hoosiers often began the final day in second or third place but fell to fifth or sixth because of mistakes in the closing holes.“We’ve got to work on staying in it mentally,” junior Kristtini Cain said. “We’ve got to learn to push through wanting to be done on that last day. We have the capabilities, and we have a very strong team, but it’s just getting to the finish line and not quitting early.”By not letting the weather keep them out of their offseason rhythm, the team is striving to better prepare itself for the rigors of the five-day road trips.According to freshman Lindsay Gahm, months of practicing in Gladstein Fieldhouse have left the Hoosiers hungry for competition.“With playing in Puerto Rico, it makes it more exciting,” she said. “I’m pumped to go play, to get out of the cold weather. It’s a big tournament with Purdue; they won nationals and it’s their tournament, but I’m ready to go out and play.” Facing an in-state rival and exchanging the Midwest winter for the Puerto Rico sun have been the Hoosiers’ recipe to fuel their offseason motivation. But Gahm said that golfing outside the walls of the Gladstein Fieldhouse will not automatically translate into results. “Coach’s big quote, from Nike of course, is ‘Just Do It,’” Gahm said. “We always say we have a lot of potential to be good, but now in the spring season we have to do it instead of saying it.” And Wallman expects nothing less from his players. He said their team chemistry sets them apart from any other squad he’s ever coached, and this season he sees their progress reflected on the course.“I think you’re going to see a much different team than what we had in the fall,” Wallman said. “They’re more composed and aware of where they want to go and how they want to get there. We’re going into a pretty loaded field (in Puerto Rico), but I expect us to play smart, be very efficient with our strokes and keep our attention on the intention.”
(12/09/10 5:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After two blowout losses to the No. 7 Arizona State men’s hockey team Friday and Saturday, the IU club ice hockey team was able to fire back, seeming to grab its first win in almost two months Sunday in 9-5 game against the Sun Devils that was called due to a power outage.IU entered Tempe, Ariz., on Friday with a 10-game losing streak. The team lost by at least six goals three times during the streak, and it forfeited twice due to a suspension from play after failing to follow IU club sport tryout and practice protocol.The team began the first period Friday like a team with something to prove. Senior goalie Jason Burriss succeeded in not letting a single puck through the net against the strong Arizona State offense, but those 20 minutes would seem to be Burriss’ only shining moments in the 60-minute game. In a 10-minute stretch during the second period, Burriss gave up three goals, sending the Hoosiers into the third period down by three.The Hoosiers, however, would attempt to make a comeback. Junior Mark Huber would score the lone IU goal for the night, assisted by senior KC Madock and freshman Brian Bieschke. Burriss gave up two more goals in the closing minutes, and IU fell 5-1.Although IU suffered the loss at the hands of a top-ranked opponent — certainly not the first the club has faced this year — the defeat seemed to intimidate the squad going into its next game Saturday, as the 12-3 rout was the worst of the season.The first of these 12 goals came quickly. Just 14 seconds after the puck dropped, Burriss let the first of his 10 allowed goals hit the back of the net. IU sophomore Kyle Lewis, assisted by sophomores Nick Dobrez and Alex Santostefano for the Hoosiers, matched another Sun Devil goal, and the first period ended with IU at just a 2-1 deficit. But after breakdowns in the team schemes and bundles of turnovers, Burriss and IU allowed more goals — seven — in the second period alone than it had allowed in all but one game the entire season. Coach Jan Jas decided that he had seen enough after Burriss let yet another goal through to make the score 10-2 in the third period, and the coach substituted Ryan Israel midway through. Israel surrendered two more goals of the nine shots against him on goal. A late unassisted goal by senior Chris Benz rounded out the final score. Yet the series may be remembered for the finish the Hoosiers brought to the pair’s final game Sunday, which was brought to an early finish due to the lack of electricity.The teams battled through two-and-a-half periods of play when the lights in the Arizona State ice arena began to flicker on and off. Two short power surges, followed by a longer third, lasted for almost a half-hour, stopping play indefinitely.Up to that point, IU had found the offensive surge it was looking for, scoring nine goals in its shortened playing time despite giving up five themselves, four on Sun Devil power plays.Freshman Greg Rachke, junior Erik Skjodt and senior KC Madock each scored two goals to lead IU in its apparent 9-5 win against the Sun Devils. Sophomore Dakota Hooker led the team both in points and assists with four in each category.It does not appear that the game will be made up for the time lost due to the power outages and therefore will not have an official winner, though IU had a comfortable lead on the Sun Devils with just nine minutes to play.The team will wrap up the fall semester’s play this weekend as it plays two games against Midwest rival Kentucky on Friday and Saturday.
(12/03/10 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Being the third coach in four years in any sport at any school is certainly tough, especially one with a national championship runner-up title just three seasons ago.You know a lot is expected of you. And quick.And yet, after the IU club ice hockey team’s No. 23 ranking at the end of last season, the team decided it needed to go in a different direction. Tom Orr left as coach at the end of the season, and the team hired Jan Jas, an experienced coach and player who has competed around the globe.Jas, a native of Presov, Slovakia, learned to play hockey growing up, and as he got older and became swifter on his skates, he made the Slovak national U-16 and U-17 teams. Later, Jas moved to Canada to play junior hockey from 1995 to 1998 before his 11-year professional career both in the United States and Europe.Jas has played in several minor professional leagues in the U.S., such as the former East Coast Hockey League, the Central Hockey League, the United Hockey League and the International Hockey League. He was a member of the 1999-2000 Indianapolis Ice team that won the Central Hockey League championship, and he’s played for teams in six countries, including the U.S., Canada, Slovakia, Italy, Austria and Poland.And with all this experience, Jas said he feels that he was a great addition to the IU hockey coaching staff.“I can’t say anything about any of the other coaches that came before me,” Jas said. “But one thing I do bring to the table is experience. I’m trying to hand off the best experiences I’ve had from the best coaches I’ve had to the players I’ve got right now.”And he said he feels that his players are starting to catch on.Through a season filled with “ups and downs and several unexpected things that came our way,” Jas said he feels that, as individuals, his players’ skills have greatly improved during the few months he has worked with them.The problem, though, has been turning that improvement into wins.His team, ranked No. 27 by the American Collegiate Hockey Association, currently sits at 4-15, yet five of those losses have come by a single goal. Fourteen of the team’s games have been against opponents who either are currently ranked in the top-25 of the ACHA rankings or were when IU played them, and the team has only been able to win three of its contests against such squads.But Jas has not become discouraged from the close losses or even that the team has dropped 10 straight.“No matter who we play, whether they’re the No. 1 team in the country or not, all I want to see is the best effort from every guy I have in the lineup,” Jas said. “We’re getting better day to day, and I think we’re going to start beating some teams and begin to get recognized around the country.”Jas came into the season with numerous roadblocks as a first-year coach. He had to form a team out of a roster and recruits that he had no control over and said he has come to realize that his players are students too. Jas has had to learn to schedule around — and sometimes practice and play without — some of his best players because of their schedules in the other parts of their lives.“They’re student athletes, not just athletes, and that has been something I’ve had to get used to,” Jas said. “They have other interests, along with school work and studying, and then hockey comes in as well.”But Jas and his players got a much-needed break during Thanksgiving. While he was able to spend some time with his wife, his newborn child and his two dogs at his home in Noblesville, Ind., his players finally were able to get some time away from school and their athletic responsibilities.“I think it was a good mental break,” Jas said. “School, combined with getting slammed into the boards and the ice every day, can become grueling, and concentrating on both is hard to do.”But Jas and his players were all back in action at practice Tuesday, and later in the week, they’ll travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face the No. 8-ranked Arizona State team in three weekend games. And though Jas said he knows wins in any of these games will be tough to achieve, he knows wins aren’t everything.“It’s not always about wins and losses,” Jas said. “It’s really about helping our team get better and achieving success. I want to build a program that can attract players around the country and gradually become a better tradition here at IU.”
(11/22/10 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>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.”
(11/18/10 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>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.”