The good news for Illini hockey is that they don’t play another ranked opponent until December. The bad news is that they went 0-6 during their recent stretch of facing three of the top seven-ranked teams in less than a month.
The final two games of this run saw the Illini (5-7-0, 10 pts.) take on the No. 5 Jamestown Jimmies (11-2-0, 22 pts.). The Jimmies outscored the Illini 15-3 over the weekend, delivering a 10-2 drubbing in game two.
Senior goaltender Nolan Woodring again played every minute of the series, and now leads the ACHA in minutes played (720). The rest of Woodring’s stats took a big hit.
Although Woodring made 74 saves, he conceded 15 goals. This dropped his save percentage below .900, and raising goals against average above 3. Woodring is also tied for the ACHA lead in losses (7).
“There are definitely points in the game where I’m tired, but if I start a game, I never want to leave the battle with my teammates,” said Woodring. “Every second I get to spend on the ice, I’m grateful for.”
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Things weren’t all bad for the Illini. The team committed just a single penalty Friday, and freshman forward Carson Mitchell scored his team-leading seventh goal on Saturday, but positives were few and far between.
The team fell back into familiar habits Saturday, committing six penalties in the second period. Unlike past games, the penalty kill was unable to contain the Jamestown power play, which scored twice in the period.
Even if the Illini had been able to keep their penalties in check and stop the Jimmies from finding the back of the net, they still had a tough time scoring goals of their own against the brick wall — goaltender Brandon Weare.
Weare allowed just one even-strength goal to the Illini. Sophomore forward Anthony Varrassi scored in the closing minutes of the second period on Friday. The Illini beat Weare twice the next night, but both times were on the power play.
The team’s lack of success against Weare wasn’t due to a lack of trying, either. The Illini peppered Weare with 34 shots Friday, 33 of which Weare stopped.
Illinois is not alone in their struggles against Weare, the ACHA wins leader, who is now a perfect 11-0 on the season. He’s allowed just 14 goals in 660 minutes, good enough for a 1.27 GAA and .951 SV%.
Illinois returns home this weekend as they take on unranked Toledo to begin a six-game homestand.
The Illini should have better results against the Rockets if they continue to take shots on net at a high volume. The Rockets’ goaltending has posted a combined .889 SV% and 3.97 GAA.
