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Illini
dominate Minnesota in weekend sweep
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Seniors
take home ice for the last time |
February
29, 2004 - There's nothing so bittersweet
as the Illini having to outstanding home games but
also knowing they are the last home games of the
season, and for six players, the last ones in an
Illini sweater. On Friday night Minnesota rolled
into town just before game time and took the ice
in front of a near capacity crowd. With a few veterans
sitting out it was up to the young players to step
up and fill in the gaps, and they came through. In
the first period the Illini came out strong, shutting
down the Minnesota offense, allowing them only four
shots on goal, and spending plenty of time in the
Minnesota zone, but found it hard to get the puck
into the net until seventeen minutes into period
when Jordon Friedman took advantage of the goalie
rebound and poked it home, Phil Gerber on the assist.
With twenty-four seconds left in the period, Marshall
Chubirka took a cross-ice pass from Mike Kincaid
and put the second Illini point on the board, Tom
Fullerton also assisting. As the second period started
the Illini found themselves a man down and trying
to kill off a Minnesota power play when Brett Pachol
intercepted a the puck and passed it Mike Roesch
who flew into the Minnesota zone and put the puck
passed a stretched out UM goaltender for the shorthanded
goal. Minnesota was finally get into the game as
they took
advantage
of two Illini players in the box serving time and
Jeremy Gurney put the first UM point on the board.
Within a minute and a half the Illini would put Minnesota
three goals behind once again as Ari Aberman would
slip the puck to Jim Rogers who then turned on the
jets, skating into the UM zone and put the puck into
the net. Minnesota and the Illini would swap another
pair of goals yet in the second, the Illini goal
coming off the stick of Clay Estabrooke as he took
the pass
from Jim Rogers who was behind the UM net and drove
it home making it a 5-2 game. In the third period
the Illni power play units came alive and put in
a pair of goals while Minnesota skaters were in the
box. The first power play goal came as Brian Coleman
passed the puck in front of the net and Steve Krates
buried it in the UM goal, Justin Stock also getting
an assist. The second power play goal came as Brian
Coleman came from behind the net to the front of
the net and put it past the Minnesota netminder,
assists going to Jim Rogers and Steve Krates. The
Illini would put one one goal on the board late in
the period as Ari Aberman would get the puck to Mike
Kincaid who would fly into the UM zone, fake out
a defender and put the puck into the net making it
an Illini 8-2 win.
On Saturday night it was the Illini's turn for some
of their players to show up just before the game
was to start as they rushed back fro the CSCHL All-Star
game. Before the game did start the seniors and their
parents were recognized
for their accomplishments over the years and the fans responded.
The seniors, Tim Danlow, Brad Eaton, Nelson Forsberg,
Kyle Zabrin, Ari Aberman, and Pat Olson then started
the game after tossing out autographed pucks to the
fans. From the onset the Illini took control and
ran away with the game. The Illini took advantage
of an early power play opportunity and Steve Krates
took a pass from Brett Duncan in front of the net
and tallied the goal, the other assist going to Pat
Olson. Less than three minutes later Brett Pachol
took the feed through the crease and put the Illini
up by two, Duncan and Olson again getting assists.
Steve Krates would grab his second goal of the period
just shy of the thirteen minute mark as Nelson Forsberg
took the puck behind the net and skated to the front
passing in front of the goal for Krates to poke it
in, Scott Kohler also getting the assist. In the
second period the Illini went on a scoring frenzy
with five goal, three of them power play goals. Brain
Coleman scored two of the three power play goals,
plus one even strength goal goal for the hat trick,
and Pat Olson assisted on all three of these goals
as well. Brett Duncan scored the other power play
goal in the period with a laser shot from the top
of the circle, Ari Aberman and Olson getting the
assists. Mike Roesch notched the other even strength
goal in the period with Jordan Friedman assiting.
In the third period Kyle Zabrin would score his last
goal on the big pond as he took Nelson Forsbergs
pass from the pint and put it into the net, Mike
Roesch also assisting. A minute and a half later,
the Illini would take advantage of another power
play chance and Coleman passed the puck from behind
the net to Micheal Fina who was in front and put
it away getting his first goal of the season, Brett
Duncan getting the other assist. The shutout was
Tim Danlows 13th career shutout and that also set
a new Illini shutout record for a goaltender. Congratulations
to all the seniors for their great careers, and best
wishes to the Illini as the head to Ames for the
ACHA tournament this week. |
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