The Illini ended their weekend series against the No. 7 Purdue Northwest Pride with just two goals scored, 12 penalties called and two losses. However, the losses can hardly be pinned to the penalties. The penalty kill held the Pride to just one goal in their 12 power plays.
The team has been playing with fire all season when it comes to penalties, but they haven’t always been burned. Illinois committed nine penalties in a 3-1 win over Michigan State earlier this season. Overall, the penalty kill is operating at an astonishing 90.2%, allowing just four goals against 37 kills.
This unintentional play style is clearly unsustainable, however, and has already shown cracks. The Illini committed over half an hour’s worth of penalties against McKendree in the second game of the year but lost 5-1. The team is looking at ways to limit their penalties without losing a competitive edge.
“We need to be more disciplined and move our feet more,” said senior center Alexander Matveev. “The main focus will be on limiting penalties 200 feet away from our own net.”
Matveev, who was called for holding mid-way through the second period of Friday’s contest, was one of eight Illini whistled for penalties this weekend. Senior defenseman Luke Alpe and freshman forward David Ras committed three penalties each.
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The Pride were called for the first three penalties of the opening game, while the Illini managed to stay out of the box through much of the first period.
Illinois even got the best of the Purdue Northwest penalty kill when freshman forward Carson Mitchell scored to tie the game at one with his team-leading sixth goal. Freshman forward Louis Iandoli scored his first goal of the season mid-way through the second. The goal gave the Illini a 2-1 lead, however, Purdue Northwest scored in the final minutes of the period to tie the game before scoring twice more in the final period, securing a 4-2 victory.
The teams switched venues for Saturday’s game, making the trip to the Kube Sports Complex in Hammond, Indiana. Despite the location change, the game started out similarly to the previous night’s contest. The Illini managed to stay out of the box early on, while the Pride committed two penalties in the opening third.
The first goal of the game came with just over two minutes left in the second when Purdue Northwest’s Chase Solberg lit the lamp. The Illini pushed for the equalizer throughout the third but took four penalties in the process. The Pride finally beat the Illini penalty kill in their 11th try of the series. Senior wing Sam Bourdages scored following a Nathan Dash tripping call.
Senior goaltender Nolan Woodring was much improved on Saturday. He stopped 30 of 32 shots after allowing four goals the night before. His effort proved futile, as the team dropped game two 2-0.
The Illini get no break after this series, as they play No. 6 Jamestown next. The Jimmies are riding an eight-game winning streak and are undefeated in division play this season.
“We have a big week of practice coming up,” said sophomore forward Anthony Varrassi. “We need to stay disciplined and make every rep count.”
