The Illinois hockey team played without a few contributors this weekend against Oklahoma.

Junior defenseman Aaron Dusek and sophomore defensemen Joey Caprio suffered injuries in the first game against the Sooners on Friday. Dusek hurt his hand on a play against the boards. He got his hand caught between a Sooners’ player and the board, and it bent the wrong way. 

He had a hard time holding his stick after the injury, and didn’t play in the game on Saturday.

“I have been working on it, and it feels a lot better,” Dusek said. “I have been icing it, and the swelling has gone down a bit.”

Caprio hurt his shoulder Friday and was not fit to play in the game Saturday.

Sophomore forward Mike Fischer and junior forward Eric Saulters couldn’t make the trip to Oklahoma. Fischer also had a shoulder injury, which he sustained in the second game against Michigan State. He has scored one goal this season.

Saulters didn’t make the trip due to family matters.

Despite the missing skaters, defenseman Austin Zima believed that this team could’ve still put up a better fight against Oklahoma.

“We have a team where we can put 20 guys out on that ice and compete with anybody,” Zima said. “I am sure that we can put anybody out on that ice on any given day and they will get the job done.”

Slow starts plague the Illini

Illinois hockey has fallen victim to slow starts so far this year.

The Illini have played six games, counting the two exhibition games before the regular season started. In those six games, the Illini had the lead once after the first period and Zima attributed that to bad habits.

“We just need to play the way we know how to play,” Zima said. “Right now we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.” 

The slow starts have effectively knocked the Illini out of several games early. In the first exhibition game against the Springfield Jr. Blues and the second game against Michigan State, Illinois was already down already down multiple goals to start the game.

Head coach Nick Fabbrini is not sure exactly what the cause of the slow starts is.

“I don’t know if it is because we aren’t prepared or if it’s something else,” Fabbrini said. “We just need to work on our preparation in all aspects, whether it is at practice the week of, or preparation on game day.”

According to Fabbrini, the Illini need to eliminate the slow starts if they want to string wins together.

Illinois hockey to get some exposure in Chicago area

The Illini will be playing their next game on a neutral venue. The Alabama Crimson Tide will face off against the Illini at Johnny’s Ice House in Chicago. 

This will be the third year in a row that the Illini will be playing at Johnny’s Ice House. According to Fabbrini, it gives Illinois excellent exposure in an area that is heavy with youth hockey talent.

The game will also allow some of the Illini players to play close to home.

Fabbrini said that the Crimson Tide feature a good amount of Chicago-area players.

Alabama only recently upgraded to being a Division I club team. They were excited to not only take on Illinois, but also bring their players on a longer trip.

“(Alabama) contacted me looking for a well-established team to play against,” Fabbrini said. “When I asked if they wanted to play in Chicago they were all for it.”

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