Anything short of a league championship would be a letdown for the Illini hockey club.

The Illini travel to Kent, Ohio this weekend for the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) playoffs, with a chance to prove they are the best in the league despite losing to Ohio by two points in the regular season standings. Their first challenge is their biggest rival – Iowa State.

“Right now the regular season is over, so it’s a whole new life for them,” senior forward Jim Rogers said. “They want to take us out as much as we want to take them out.”

Rogers will be a marked man for the Cyclones who haven’t forgotten the captain’s comments about how ugly the Iowa State campus is and how much Ames, Iowa smells. But Rogers said he doesn’t mind the added bull’s-eye, and in fact said it pushes him to play harder and make everyone around him better.

“Knowing that they are going to be coming after me makes me try to be one step ahead of them so they are out of position,” Rogers said.

The Illini will have to use this weekend to rebound from the Penn State reality check from last week. Illinois lost 2-1 and tied 3-3. Senior forward Brian Coleman said the team is confident they can not only make it to the finals, but also win the title.

“We’ve beaten every team, with the exception of Michigan-Dearborn, and we all know the situation there (with five starters out of the line up),” Coleman said. “It’s now just a matter of going through and playing three games of good hockey and coming away with the trophy.”

In the past two years, the CSCHL playoffs have been dominated by Ohio and Illinois, and the Illini expect this time to be no different. In 2003, the Illini beat Ohio 2-1 in overtime, but lost in 2004 3-2. The team expects it to come down to the same two once again.

“We have a lot of depth and a great goaltender, and we believe Ohio has the same work ethic we do,” Rogers said.

However, in the finals, Rogers said everything that happened during the regular season goes out the window.

“With the seniors going out on both sides, (if this game happens) it will show who has been the more dominant team in our league over the past three years,” Rogers said.

The league playoffs are also Illinois’ chance to gain momentum against good teams for nationals in Bensenville, Ill.

“This is our last real chance before nationals, and we gave away the regular season title,” freshman forward Nick Fabbrini said. “So hopefully we can get some revenge on Ohio.”