A weekend sweep of Robert Morris at the “Big Pond” was driven by a common approach in the Illini attack: What is packed in, must be broken down.

Conservative was the name of the game for the visiting Eagles, who forward Johnny Liang estimated spent “90 percent” of Saturday’s 6-0 shutout in their defensive zone, as No. 1 Illinois claimed eight points in CSCHL play and shook the unfamiliar feeling of defeat.

Robert Morris’ approach revolved around a passive defense of the high-octane Illinois offense.

“They really packed it in defensively and let us really control the puck in the offensive zone and didn’t mount much of an attack,” head coach Chad Cassel said. “It was a little frustrating for our guys early on, but it’s just a matter of time, when you do that, we’re eventually going to break through with the offensive power we have out there.”

Friday’s 7-1 Illinois win became a matter of how much time the Eagles spent in the penalty box.

Two goals from defenseman Brad Hoelzer headed a ferociously efficient power play, as all seven of Illinois’ goals came off Robert Morris penalties. The junior added five assists on the weekend.

“Our power play has been strong all year,” Hoelzer said. “If you get us on the power play a lot, we’re going to score a lot of goals.”

After the team’s 47-game win streak came to an end in a 4-3 loss to Central Oklahoma on Oct. 25, junior DJ Kohler’s Saturday night shutout marked the conception of Illinois hockey’s newest streak. The loss of a weekend ago lit a fire under the Illini, and one hard week of practice and two conference victories later, players alluded to a newfound sense of focus and determination that proved invaluable on the ice.

“It’s kind of inspirational, it gets you going again after not losing for a while,” said Liang, who came a goal short of completing a third period hat trick in Saturday’s contest. “You go out there, start going through some motions, kind of dig deeper, though, after the loss and try to figure out why you play the game and have more fun with it.”

The scaled-back Eagles’ attack meant the Illini feasted on the Robert Morris net, outshooting the visitors by more than a 3-to-1 margin over the six periods of play.

Senior captain Jordan Pringle saw the weekend as more than just two notches in the win column.

“It was really a character test,” Pringle said following Saturday’s win. “A lot of the guys had never lost in the college careers, so it was going to be interesting to see how we came out. I think we passed the test.”

University of Michigan-Dearborn will test the Illini’s newest win streak when they visit Champaign for a two game series beginning Nov. 14.

Liang did not hesitate to predict how long the trend would last.

“I have a feeling we might go all the way again this year.”

Meghan Montemurro contributed to this report.