The Illini (7-7-0, 14 pts.) swept the Toledo Rockets (5-3-1, 12 pts.) this weekend to even their record. Because of that, they climbed to third in the Midwest College Hockey Division.
Going into the series, Illinois had dropped four games in a row. Illinois had its work cut out against a Toledo team that had won five of their first eight games.
Comeback kids
The Illini found themselves trailing early in both games, a tough spot for a team that had been 2-7 in games where they had fallen behind. Toledo lit the lamp within the game’s opening minute on Friday and Saturday. It forced Illinois to play catch-up before the crowd’s opening roar had even died off.
The Rockets netted another early goal on Friday to take a 2-0 lead before a flurry of back-and-forth goals left the game tied at three when regulation ended.
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The Illini had trailed 3-2 before freshman forward David Ras weaved his way past two Rockets defenders and scored his fifth goal of the year mid-way through the third.
A scoreless overtime, Illinois’ first of the season, led to a shootout. The teams traded early goals before the scoring dried up.
Senior goaltender Nolan Woodring stopped the Rockets from finding the back of the net for five straight rounds as the contest dragged on. The Illini also had trouble scoring and failed to find the back of the net on three straight shots.
The sixth Illini shooter, senior defenseman Nick Andersen, finally did what the three forwards ahead of him couldn’t. He scored glove-side to walk off the Rockets and complete the comeback.
Better yet, Woodring would continue his lockdown play on Saturday.
Woodring bounces back
The Illini didn’t trail on Saturday for nearly as long as they had the night before. Sophomore defenseman Nathan Dash tied the score within the first five minutes, and junior forward Gregory Etingen scored shorthanded. It was his second goal of the series, and he gave the Illini the lead after one period.
Illinois never looked back, and Woodring played perfectly outside the opening minute. The team scored thrice more en route to a 5-1 victory.
It’s just the kind of game Woodring was searching for after a disastrous performance against No. 2 Jamestown in the previous series.
Woodring stopped 54 of the 58 shots he saw this weekend, plus five of the six he faced in the shootout. He earned his sixth and seventh victories of the season, leaving him with the second-most wins in the league.
The goaltender also put more distance behind him on the league minutes leaderboard, where Woodring has held the top spot nearly all season. Woodring has now played 845 minutes, 185 more than second-place Brandon Weare.
The Illini are now 7-1 when scoring three or more goals this season. This is truly a testament to Woodring’s play and the team’s defense.
Illinois continues its home stand this weekend when the team plays McKendree for the second time this season.
