The seniors take the ice for the last time

  In Friday nights game one would have thought that there was a special force around the goal at the South end of the ice since neither team was able to score at the end. In the first period the Illini defended the South goal and the team came out ready to play. Just over five minutes into the period and the Illini on the power play, Kyle Mulvey scored the first Illini goal of the evening by chipping in the rebound from a Joel Superfine shot, Tom Ennessy was also on hand to assist. Three minutes later Joel again found himself with the puck and from between the circles took aim and fired a shot past the Gopher goaltender Donovan, Kyle Zabrin given the lone assist on that goal. As the period wound down, Kyle Mulvey received a standing ovation from fans as his high sticking call sent him to the box with his 100th penalty minute for the season. In the second period the Illini came out sluggish and Minnesota found themselves on the power play early and Brian Oswald took advantage of it as a mess in front of the net let the puck slip by Illini tender Tim Danlow. The Gophers towering forward Matt Hoese provided the only other scoring in the period and knotted things up at 2-2. In the third period the Illini came out to play again on the power play Brian Tilden took advantage of the out of position Gopher net minder and put in his 26th goal of the season. The Assists went to Dan Lynch and Pat Olson. Minutes later Pat Olson found himself flying up the left boards alone, cutting into the center he let a laser fly and it found its mark in the back of the Minnesota net taking the Illini up by two. Just over a minute later Kyle Zabrin slipped the puck over to Luke Carlson who was speeding towards the net, tripped up and falling Luke passes the puck over to Joel Superfine who put the biscuit in the basket as Donovan tried to get back into place. The period ended and the Illini were victorious with the 5-2 win.

  On Saturday "Senior" night the game started a little later as the Illini seniors took center stage and Coach Cassel recalled their accomplishments on the ice as well as off, the players families also stepped out onto the ice to wish them well for their last home game. The first period started out as it should have with an all senior lineup, and Scott Hacker getting his second start in net for the Illini. The period started out slow but the Illini were playing much better than the previous night, not allowing the Gophers to set up any plays and limiting them to just 19 shots on goal for the whole game, 2 less than they allowed in the first period alone the night before. Brett Duncan finally broke the 0-0 tie by knocking in a rebound shot From Brian Tilden and Pat Olson. Keeping the pressure on, Pat Olson passed the puck from behind the net to a waiting Brian Tilden who poked it home putting the Illini up by two at the end of the first, a rare penalty free period. In the second things would heat up a little as the Illini would keep the pressure on and the Minnesota frustrations started to show. Kyle Mulvey found himself in front of the Gopher net and with the assistance of Brad Eaton was able to get the puck in past the Gopher goalie. Confusion in front of the net seemed to distract the Minnesota net minder and the Illini must have known that as Scott Kohler, teamed up with David Vargas and Jeff Condis added another Illini goal to the board. As the Gopher frustration grew and the Illini found themselves on a power play seconds after the last goal, a picture perfect power play setup from Todd Chrustowski to Brian Tilden sent the puck soaring into the gopher net. A little pushing and shoving ended the period with the Illini up 5-0. In the third period the Gophers tried their luck with Trevor Fairley in net it was too little too late as the wheels had already come off of the Minnesota wagon. With eighteen penalties being called in the period alone, thirteen in the last five minutes, there was barely enough time for real hockey action, but Kyle Mulvey, Brad Eaton, and Jim Rogers found time, as they ganged up and made the backup net minder feel welcome as Kyle put in his second goal of the evening, and gave the Illini the 6-0 victory.

  Congratulations to Brian Tilden and Pat Olson for their 4 point weekend, Joel Superfine for a 2 goal and 1 assist game, Kyle Mulvey for his 3 goals and 100+ penalty minutes, and Scott Hacker for another shutout.. And to all the seniors for a special year of Illini Hockey