The Illini (14-9-3, 31 pts.), with several teams hot on their trail in the Midwest College Hockey Division standings, took care of business in Ames, Iowa, this weekend. They swept the cellar-dwelling Iowa State Cyclones (6-18-3, 15 pts.).
The team survived a late surge Friday to hang on 4-3 and breezed past the Cyclones Saturday, 4-1. Illinois is now 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.
“As a team, I think we have been playing better hockey as of late,” said freshman forward David Ras. “(We’re) doing the little things right and buying into our systems.”
Dominant underclassmen
Illinois lit the lamp eight times in this series. In seven of those shots, an underclassman scored. Ras led the pack with four goals. Freshman forwards Carson Mitchell and Roman Chaian and sophomore forward Anthony Varrassi all netted a goal of their own.
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“I have been fortunate enough to capitalize on our improved play,” Ras said. “I haven’t been doing anything different. I think I’m just adapting to the ACHA style of play and feeling more comfortable at college in general.”
The freshman has six goals in his last six games after recording just one in the prior six games. Underclassmen are beginning to dominate the top of the stat sheet for Illinois, with Varrassi (13), Mitchell (12) and Ras (12) leading the team in goals this season.
The lone upperclassman to score this weekend was senior forward Alexander Matveev, who also recorded three assists in game two.
Woodring stands tall
Senior goaltender Nolan Woodring has been steady as a rock for the Illini all season, and he kept that up this series. The goalie faced an astonishing 96 shots from the struggling Cyclone offense and managed to stop 92.
“Getting that many shots is definitely a challenge, but allows me to get into a flow,” Woodring said. “My training and conditioning on and off the ice helps me maintain composure in those kinds of games as well.”
Woodring now owns a 2.68 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and 13 wins across 1,434 minutes played this season. All four represent career bests.
The senior has won his last five starts and has allowed more than one goal just twice in the same span. This weekend, Woodring conceded just a single even-strength goal, as all three of Iowa State’s goals on Friday came on the power play.
The Illini found themselves on the penalty kill often this weekend, a trend that defined their play earlier this season but had slowed as of late. The Cyclones were 3/14 on the power play in this series.
Looking ahead
Illinois has a tough six-game stretch ahead to round out the season. The team welcomes Northern Illinois (10-16-3, 23 pts.), who shut down the Illinois offense in its previous meeting, this weekend. Then, the Illini play another team they’ve had little success against, the Purdue Northwest Pride (11-7-4, 26 pts.). The Pride swept the Illini in their mid-October meeting.
Illinois State will visit the Ice Arena to conclude the regular season on Feb. 14 and 15. The teams split their first series in December.
