Illinois (11-4-2, 33 pts.) fans walk away with mixed feelings after a wild two-game split with Purdue Northwest (9-6-1, 28 pts.). One night after suffering their worst loss of the season, a 10-2 drubbing in Hammond, Indiana, the Illini answered with one of their gutsiest performances of the year.
Less than 24 hours after the crushing loss, Illinois regrouped on home ice, battling its way to a 3-2 shootout win capped by a filthy finish from sophomore forward David Ras.
One to forget
Thursday’s meeting got away from the Illini early. After scoring twice in the first, Purdue Northwest broke out for five goals in the second and added three more in the third, capitalizing on transition chances that repeatedly broke Illinois’ defense.
Head coach John Opilka didn’t sugarcoat the loss.
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“Giving up four breakaway goals and four odd-man rush goals is not going to win you a lot of games,” Opilka said. “Prior to Thursday, we have done a good job keeping guys in front of us and staying above defensively. Our effort Thursday was disappointing to say the least.”
Graduate student forward Alexander Matveev and sophomore forward Riley Babich were the lone scorers for Illinois, netting their third and second goals of the season, respectively.
New day, new team
A different team showed up the next day at home. Friday’s game started with the urgency that was lacking in game one. Illinois broke the deadlock late in the first with two quick goals.
Graduate student forward Ross Jaldung scored the opener and junior forward David Etingen followed with a goal of his own less than two minutes later to make it 2-0.
The Pride pulled within one early in the second, but the rest of the period turned into a special teams grind with constant penalties on both sides. Illinois held the line until late in the third, when Purdue Northwest junior forward Jared Topil tied the game to force overtime.
After a scoreless extra frame, sophomore goaltender Grady Sulkin stopped both Purdue Northwest shooters in the shootout. Jaldung and Ras buried their attempts to give Illinois the 3-2 shootout win.
Opilka said the reset between games was the key.
“A great team like PNW is going to take advantage of every opportunity you give them, and they did,” Opilka said. “After a result like that, you need to forget about it and focus on the next one.”
Sulkin proves reliable
Illinois’ goaltending situation was the subject of discussion this weekend. After using all three goalies during Thursday’s blowout, Opilka returned to Sulkin on Friday. The sophomore delivered yet another strong performance.
“We hung our goalies out to dry Thursday night,” Opilka said. “Grady has played great over the recent stretch of games. He earned the opportunity to start again Friday, and proved that he can give us a chance to win games.”
Sulkin finished with 29 saves on 31 shots Friday and was perfect in the shootout. The goalie now owns a .921 save percentage and 2.55 GAA across nine games this year.
On to Thanksgiving
The Illini return this weekend for three games during the ACHA Chicago Showcase. They are set to play Delaware, Rhode Island and Alabama during the ACHA Chicago Showcase.
