Illini face off against Penn State

November 30, 2003 - The matchup that everyone wanted to see and expected took place Saturday night in the Championship game for the BigTen tournament, but the outcome was not what the Illini was hoping for. As the tournament kicked off on Friday with the Illini facing Ohio State, it appeared that both teams were still working off the turkey and dressing from Thanksgiving day. Illini Junior Brian Coleman was the first to take advantage of the opponents sluggishness as he put the Illini out front first just three and a half minutes into the game, the assists were given to Jim Rogers and Andy Lubesnick. Halfway through the first, Ohio State put on a drive that was mostly thwarted by the Illini, but as the loose puck skidded around the crowd at the net, the Buckeyes were able to slip it past Mike DeGeorge to even the game at one. In the second period the Illini came out rejuvenated and took advantage of some Ohio State miscues. Senior Nelson Forsberg put the Illini up for good at the four and a half minute mark in the second period as he chipped in a goal past the Buckeye netminder, assisted by Brett Duncan and Scott Kohler. Just a minute and a half later Mark Myers passed the puck to Mike Roesch who rushed into the Ohio Zone and being in the right place at the right time, Steve Krates poked it home. At the 11:45 mark, the line of Estabrooke, Coleman, and Rogers showed why they can be a force to deal with as they teamed up and Jim Rogers gave the Illini a three goal lead. Twenty-nine seconds later Pat Olson would get the puck from a Scott Kohler won face off and rip one in and give the Illini another goal. If that wasn't enough, Nelson Forsberg would make the backup Buckeye goaltender feel welcome and score for his second time in the period, as he teamed up with Steve Krates to give the Illini a 6-1 lead heading into the third. In the final period the Illini kept the Buckeyes out of the zone, allowing only six shots on goal and as the period wound down Pat Olson was finally able to get one past the OSU goalie giving the Illini the 7-1 win.
  The Second game of the evening would decide who the Illini would play in the Championship game, and it was decided quickly as Penn State started putting puck past Indiana quickly, scoring three times in the first four minutes. While Indiana was able to convert a few Penn State mistakes, they were definitely overwhelmed as Penn State took the game 13-3.
  Saturdays first match was the consolation round which put Indiana against Ohio State in a very defensive, low scoring game. Ohio State struck first but Indiana answered back quickly with two goals of there own. Down by a goal, OSU pulled their goalie to have the extra skater on the ice, but Indiana was able to intercept the puck and score the empty net goal giving them the 3-1 win.
  And then came the game that people came to see, #1 vs. #2, Penn State vs. the Illini. The game started off quickly after the zamboni returned to the ice to finish the job and clean up the mess it made. Penn State came out fast and hard but the Illini were able to strike back and score quickly as Brett Duncan rushed into the Icers zone and put one past the Scott Blackman, the assists going to Scott Kohler and Nelson Forsberg. Penn State was able to even things back up as they passed the puck past the Illini defenders to DePretis who was already at the Illini blue line, rushing in alone he was able to put one by Illini netminder Tim Danlow. Early in the second period, Mike Roesch put in a deflected Kyle Zabrin shot to give the Illini the 2-1 lead, Steve Krates was also given an assist on the goal. The rest of the period was still fast paced physical play that kept fans standing and on the edge of their seats. In the third period The Icers were able to even things back up as Glenn Zuck and Kevin Jaeger teamed up to get another puck past Danlow. With over half of the third period gone, and the Icers Zuck and Jaeger spending a lot of time on the ice, it finally paid off for them as they got the puck to Dan McKeen who put in the third PSU goal. For the rest of the game the Icers laid back and waited for the Illini to bring the puck up ice, and once gaining control were able to simply clear it down ice. With Danlow pulled the Illini were able to mount an attack and came close to putting the game into overtime, but the Icers were able to hold on to take home the BigTen first place trophy.