Illinois hockey (3-3) is back on the road looking to bounce back from its two losses against Purdue Northwest last weekend as the team travels to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State University (2-0) for another doubleheader this weekend.
The Cyclones have only played two games this season — both against the Oregon Ducks — and scored high in those first two games. With multiple returning seniors, the Cyclones defeated Oregon with ease. They scored five goals in their first meeting and won their second game with four goals scored.
Senior forward Everett Bestland and senior forward Stuart Pearson lead the Cyclones in scoring with two goals scored and two goals assisted. Bestland scored each of his two goals towards the end of the first game. Scoring back-to-back goals in the third period, Bestland was able to clinch the Cyclones to their first win of the season. Pearson scored Iowa State’s first goal in both games, putting the pressure on the Ducks early. Within the first three minutes, the Cyclones already possessed a one-goal lead thanks to Pearson.
On the defensive side of the ice, the Cyclones are putting a new face to defend the net. Sophomore goalie Harrison Moen is playing his first year with the Cyclones and it has been smooth sailing for him through the Cyclones’ first two games. With a save percentage of .955, he has been a major contributor to the Cyclones’ staggering point differential. Moen gave up three goals last weekend but with an average of 33 shots headed his way per game, the puck would end up behind the net at some point. It is expected that Moen will play the full game as he did in the first two games of the season.
The Illini have some work to do, with a weekend that can be forgotten and a challenging opponent ahead of them. Last weekend did not go as expected for Illinois, who gave up nine goals in a row across the two games. To make matters worse, Illinois’ offense stalled out and was not able to put up the same amount of shots on goal as Purdue Northwest.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Senior goalie Ben Mazurek was asked to make 46 stops last game. Mazurek picked up 43 saves, but that resulted in three shots finding the back of the net. Even with all those shots coming at Mazurek, he kept his save percentage to a respectable .942 mark on the season. While Mazurek has been excellent so far, the Illini will need to limit the number of shots the Cyclones take; otherwise, it may be a long weekend in Iowa.
As Illinois is looking to get its record back above .500 this weekend, it is important and could be interesting to see how the team responds to the speed bump it hit last weekend. The Illini do not play on home ice until late October but have a chance to come back home with a winning record after their road trip is over.
