Coming off a rough loss against Iowa State last weekend, Illinois hockey (3-4-0) made the long trip to Pelham, Alabama to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (2-8-0) in a two-game road series. Alabama pulled out a highly contested 3-1 win Friday night before Illinois bounced back with a 4-3 win in a shootout on Saturday night.

Illinois has stressed the importance and play of its goaltenders all season, but its offense finally came alive for the first time since the Michigan State series. The Illini received contributions from all around, but none were bigger than the three points — two goals and an assist— provided by junior Nick Andersen. Originally listed as a defender, Andersen has adopted more of a winger role just when the offense has needed it most.

When reflecting on where these performances came from, Andersen credits a mentality switch, and above all else, his teammates.

“I’d say I just decided to shoot the puck more often than before,” Andersen said. “It helps to have two great linemates (sophomore forward Greg Etingen and freshman forward Tony Varassi). They deserve the credit more than I do.”

Andersen scored the lone goal in Friday night’s loss, a game started in net by senior goaltender Ben Mazurek. After a long night Friday for Mazurek, coach Opilka tabbed junior goaltender Nolan Woodring with the start on Saturday hoping to put an end to the Illini’s four-game losing streak. The pressure was on for Illinois, but that was not a factor according to Woodring.

“I didn’t feel like there was any extra pressure to win,” Woodring confidently recalled. “I always feel like the game at hand is the most important and went through my normal gameday process to prepare to give my team the best chance to win.”

Saturday was a personal affair for Woodring as Alabama’s goaltender, Joseph Hughes, was his goalie partner back in junior hockey. The game left nothing to be desired as the Illini were able to pull out the win in a 19-round shootout. Andersen picked up a goal in the shootout after his two points in regulation, but it was freshman defenseman Sangshi Yang who came up with what would eventually be the game-winner. With the final stop from Woodring, the weight of the losing streak was finally lifted off the shoulders of the Illini.

“All I was thinking about after that last save was how excited I was to celebrate the team,” Woodring said. “I really wanted to get that win for them and beat my old junior goalie partner on Alabama.”

The Alabama Crimson Tide (3-8-0) travels to Michigan next weekend for a series against a formidable Calvin University (6-2-1) team.

Illinois (4-5-0) looks to use this momentum as it heads into a home-and-home series with Roosevelt University (5-2-1). The first game will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Champaign at the Ice Arena and the second at 7:30 p.m. in Bensenville, Illinois at the Edge Ice Arena on Saturday.

@spitzanity