The Illini were expected to face their toughest opponent yet and have their hands full for a two-game series last weekend.

The predictions were half right.

On the road against Kent State, the Illini came away with a close win Friday by a score of 2-0, and scored the highest number of goals they have this season in a 13-1 trouncing Saturday.

Illinois now boasts a record of 6-0-0 and 2-0-0 in the CSCHL after its first league and away games.

Junior Tom Connell’s hat trick led the offensive explosion. Johnny Liang, Tony Razik, Daniel Cohen and Brad Hoelzer each pitched in with two goals on the weekend. Nine different players scored, showing the depth of the Illini’s scoring attack.

“This year we have a really balanced offense from our first line all the way to our fourth line,” Cohen said. “Our coach gives us all equal opportunities to go out there with playing time. No one’s really selfish. We try to make the best play instead of trying to do it all ourselves. With that comes getting everyone involved and that’s what’s made our team so effective so far.”

When the Illini weren’t scoring, they were shutting down the Golden Flashes. Junior Mike Burda continued his dominance in the net, allowing his only goal on the year Saturday after it hit a defenseman’s shoulder and went in. He now has three shutouts in four starts.

A goalie showdown between Burda and Kent State’s Ryan Gregory took place Friday, as only one goal was allowed between the two. However, Gregory couldn’t keep up his stellar play.

On Saturday he was pulled after allowing puck after puck to fly past him. However, he was not the only one to blame for the Golden Flashes’ Saturday troubles.

“On Friday night the refs weren’t calling much at all,” head coach Chad Cassel said. “There were only three penalties all game – two on Kent State, one on us. Saturday night there was more officiating like we were used to, and there were a number of penalty calls. We had probably 10 power plays, and we scored six.”

The Illini won the weekend’s games quite differently, displaying the strengths of both their offense and defense; the team has beaten its three opponents by a combined score of 43-5.

“We were able to score with the man advantage and that was really key to Saturday’s win where our defensive zone coverage was the key to Friday’s win,” Cohen said.