When the puck drops on Friday night at the Big Pond, it will mark the first time in school history the Illinois hockey team squares off with the St. Louis Jr. Blues, a junior-level team from the NA3HL.
While the series is considered an exhibition series, the games count toward the Illini’s national ranking.
“It’s really important that we get two wins out of this series,” Illinois head coach Nick Fabbrini said. “I think the sweep this past weekend was a good momentum builder for us. We need to keep that momentum going.”
Getting a second sweep in consecutive weeks should come at a lesser cost for the Illini, as the Blues consist of younger, less experienced players. Freshman forward John Olen said the biggest differences between Illinois and St. Louis will be maturity and size.
“The league is a little less competitive (than the top-tier junior league, the NAHL),” Olen said. “I think they’ll still be a decent team because they’re one of the top teams in their league right now, but I don’t think the speed or size will be the same.”
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Olen added that the team’s roster comprises players ages 15 through 17. Although the games aren’t significant to the Illini’s season as a whole, Fabbrini said that he will use the series to give much-needed rest to junior goaltender Nick Clarke and allow younger players to get valuable ice time.
The games will also be used to scout future potential Illini talent.
“There are going to be a couple of Chicago guys on that team that are looking to go to college next year,” Fabbrini said. “It’s a good opportunity to showcase the school and the program to about 20 prospective players and to get games out of it and get better as a team while we’re at it.”
The series comes at a stressful time for student-athletes, as many are preparing for final exams starting this weekend. The Illini generally don’t play games or hold practice during finals week, but former head coach Chad Cassel scheduled games this weekend prior to his retirement.
“To be honest, I wish we weren’t playing these games,” Olen said. “It kind of sucks having to go around my hockey schedule and still have to study for my finals.”
“It’s not an ideal weekend to be playing,” Fabbrini said. “But it’ll give guys an opportunity to keep playing, so these will be two good games for us, I think.”
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Blake can be reached at [email protected].
