After the sun shined down upon the Illini last season, there was a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the strength of this year’s young team.

That cleared up a little last weekend.

The defending champion Illinois hockey club kicked off the season against Michigan State, winning 2-1 on Friday and lighting up the scoreboard Saturday with a dominating 8-0 win.

Physical play dominated the two games, as big hits, shoving matches and fights resulted in ejections on both sides.

“We had a lot of emotion, especially after last year,” sophomore forward Daniel Cohen said. “They had high intensity, and we matched it.”

Playing at home, the Illini scored first both nights and never trailed in the two games.

The offense was firing on all cylinders, as seven different players scored during the weekend. Cohen and forwards Rob Deubel and JJ Heredia each had two goals.

“Overall, the scoring was balanced, and everyone played well,” head coach Chad Cassel said.

On the other hand, Michigan State’s offense was shut down, as the Illini allowed only 40 shots on the weekend and killed all 14 power play opportunities.

“I thought we did a good job killing penalties,” Cassel said. “We gave up a few more shot opportunities than I’d like, but overall I thought our defense was good this week.”

On Saturday, the Illini fired 47 shots, finding the back of the net eight times.

The defense against the Spartans was just as impressive, not allowing a single goal.

“We definitely out-shot them, and when they had a chance we brought it to them,” goaltender Mike Burda said.

Cohen started off the scoring by shooting a puck past Spartans goaltender Nick Kuelske in the first period. He scored his second in the second period to increase the Illini’s lead to 3-0.

“Dan looked really good (Saturday),” Cassel said of the sophomore forward.

Burda shut out the Spartans with 23 saves, including a diving stop that caused one Michigan State player to put his hands on his head while staring at the once-open net in disbelief.

“Obviously, Burda was outstanding,” Cassel said. “He had some spectacular saves when they had great opportunities.”

On Friday, the Illini played without four of its top players – defenseman Brad Hoelzer, Burda, Cohen and forward Matt Jennings – who were benched for breaking a team rule.

In that first game, the Illini had a tougher time guiding their shots to the back of the net, only scoring two goals.

Even though the team kept the puck in Michigan State’s end for most of the game and had almost triple the number of shots, Spartans goaltender Justin Sand, who had 45 saves on the night, kept the game within Michigan State’s reach.

The Spartans came within a goal halfway through the third period, when goaltender DJ Kohler allowed a goal. But the Spartans were unable to score again.

Winners of 40 straight, the Illini start out the season with assurance that they deserve their No. 1 ranking.

“It’s huge starting off the season with two wins,” Cohen said. “Now it’s just a matter of putting in a good week of practice.”