The Illini hockey club special teams led the way, powering past the Kent State Flashes this weekend with six power-play goals on 11 chances.

The Golden Flashes were scorched 4-1 and 5-1 by an Illini team on fire – undefeated in their last nine games.

Friday night against Kent State, the Illini jumped out to a lightning-fast three-goal lead on three power-play goals in less than 10 minutes.

Some acrobatic saves by sophomore goaltender Mike DeGeorge kept the game out of reach for Kent State and the Illini were able to coast to a win. But Saturday’s game was not as easy.

After the first period, the Illini found themselves down 1-0 – but it could have been worse. Once again, DeGeorge came through to make critical saves that kept the deficit manageable. He has allowed an average of 1.51 goals a game with a 93.9 save percentage and has taken over where former Illini goaltender Tim Danlow left off when he graduated.

After a meager nine shots on goal in the first, the Illini threw everything they had at the Flashes’ goaltender – firing 29 shots and stopping just short of the kitchen sink.

“We came out a little slow in the first, but they had a rookie goalie in there and sooner or later we were going to get our goals,” said junior forward Mike Roesch. “This team has talented enough shooters that eventually someone is going to find a way to put the puck in the net.”

The Illini tied it up midway through the second when sophomore defenseman Alex Tauchen scored from the point on the powerplay. Saturday was Tauchen’s 20th birthday, and he was filling in on the line for the injured junior defensemen Andy Lubesnick, who is out with a dislocated shoulder.

“Andy has some big skates to fill and I was glad I could step in there and help get points on the board,” Tauchen said.

From there, the Illini wore the Flashes down and eventually left them in the dust. A goal by freshman forward Nick Fabbrini gave Illinois the lead, and a power-play goal 15 seconds into the third period by Roesch added distance. Illinois added two more that period to clinch the series sweep.

Illinois’ last and only loss came against Michigan – a Division-II team that stunned the Illini, winning 4-3 Oct. 16. Senior forward Brett Duncan said there definitely is a connection between the loss and how the team is playing now.

“It was kind of a wake-up call for everyone to start playing better hockey and to come to the rink focused and ready to play each and every week no matter who we are playing,” Duncan said.

Roesch said he has noticed the team atmosphere is more united than last season, where it felt more divided between rookies and veterans.

“I feel like everyone is playing together,” he said. “There are rookies on pretty much every line, and just overall, the team as a whole – we get along. We all hang out off the ice so we’re always together. It really helps when we are on the bench because we’re all best friends and we play like we are.”