Bobcat hockey gets chance to play spoiler
By William Strome, Staff Writer
January 25, 2008 | 6:52 p.m.
It was Jan. 20, 2006 when the Fighting Illini succumbed to North Dakota State University, 4-3, in Champaign. Since then, they have had the nation's longest active home winning streak with 42 games.
The 'Cats travel to "The Big Pond" in Champaign Friday and Saturday night where Illinois has not lost during the regular season since Dec. 3, 2004.
"It's never easy to go on the road but this place is one of the toughest," coach Dan Morris said. "We have to start strong and can't afford to fall behind against this team. We have to out skate these guys to beat them."
Over the past eight games, the Illinois offense has averaged 7.375 goals per game (59 total) while holding their opponents to 1.75 (14 total). Despite averaging five goals a game over the last eight, the Ohio offense has been anything but consistent all year. Of those 40 goals over eight games, 26 were scored in only three games (at Saint Louis, 12/8, 8-0; at Saint Louis, 12/9, 7-0; Robert Morris, 1/4, 11-1).
"We have to tie up the neutral zone, that's the only way you can slow a team like this down," Bobcat junior defenseman Max Malone said.
Four players with over 30 points anchor Illinois’ arsenal. Forward Jason Nemeth leads the charge with 45 points, which ranks 10th in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) for overall points on the season. Forwards Drew Heredia (37 points), Johnny Liang (34), and Jordan Pringle (33) make up the rest of the high octane Illini offense.
On the flip side, Ohio has only one player over 30 points, senior Jim Fuhs with 36.
"This is a tough team to keep up with, they can put up a lot of points so we can't afford to let this get out of hand," Morris said. "We might not always do it, but this would be a good weekend to put up some big numbers."
This season alone, Illinois (23-0) has posted seven shutouts thanks to two stellar goalies. Mike Burda (12-0) and D.J. Kohler (10-0) have been nothing short of phenomenal between the pipes. The two-headed monster that is the Illini goalkeeping has shared time all season. While Burda posts a 1.57 goals against average over 724 minutes, his counterpart, Kohler, has held the opposition to 2.02 GAA over 563 minutes.
Ohio, like Illinois, utilizes a dual goalie system. Despite Goalie Paul Marshall's consistent play over the past few weeks, Morris pulled Marshall for Chris Carlson following the first period of Saturday's 5-2 loss to Western Michigan. In replace of Marshall, Carlson allowed one goal and made 13 saves. As of Wednesday, there was no decision as to who would start in goal for Ohio. Marshall (2.22 GAA) has seen 1,190 minutes of play for the 'Cats while Carlson (2.82 GAA) has seen 532.
"It wasn't anything personal," Morris said. "We just wanted to get someone new in there to try to swing the momentum our way."
Morris also said that he would make his decision based on performance in practice during the week.
The Bobcats return to the friendly confines of Bird Arena next weekend to host Washington and Jefferson (19-10) for a two-game series. The following weekend the 'Cats put an end to their regular season with a two-game series at home against Kent State University, who is tied for sixth in the CSCHL.