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TechnographNo. 1 Illinois at home on road facing off against in-state foe
By Wes Anderson
Posted: 2/8/08 Section: Sports
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Top-ranked Illinois (27-0-0, 16-0-0 CSCHL) will be in Bensenville, Ill., on Friday and Saturday to wrap up the conference schedule against slumping No. 21 Robert Morris (12-20-0, 5-13-0).
With nearly every player on the roster hailing from the Chicago area, the Illini aren't expecting a hostile environment.
"It's almost like a home game for us," center Drew Heredia said. "We always have a bunch of family and friends down there - a lot of them can't make it down (to Champaign) so they get to come see us."
Besides being close to many of the players' hometowns, Bensenville also holds special significance for Illinois. The Edge Ice Arena, the Eagles' home rink, was the venue for Illinois' ACHA national tournament victory in 2005.
Head coach Chad Cassel said that the venue is not only a memorable one, but it allows the players a rare opportunity to return home for a weekend. The club has no time off during the season, except for breaks at Thanksgiving and the end of fall semester,
"We let the guys stay at home, and that's always kind of nice - to sleep in your own bed and be home for a couple of days," Cassel said. "I know our players are really looking forward to it."
Despite enjoying the comforts of home, Cassel said the Illini aren't using the weekend to rest, even though they have already clinched the Central States Collegiate Hockey League regular season title.
"We're going in to win," Cassel said. "Everyone that's healthy is going to play."
After surviving a shootout against Ohio two weeks ago, and coming back from two-goal deficits twice against Iowa State last week, the Orange and Blue are looking to find their stride as conference and national tournaments draw closer.
"Our last three games we've won, but we certainly haven't played our best," Heredia said.
Foremost among the areas to improve upon is special teams. In their last three games, the Illini have converted on only one of their 21 power plays.
Cassel said he hoped the return of winger Jordan Pringle, who has been sidelined the last two series with a knee injury, will help spark the Illinois power play.
"We have plenty of skilled guys, but Jordan's probably our most skilled player on the team," Cassel said.
On the defensive end, Illinois has not been quite as sharp away from home, giving up an average of 2.0 goals per game compared to 1.4 at the Ice Arena.
"We spent basically the entire practice (Wednesday) on penalty kills," Cassel said. "Special teams are huge come tournament time."
With next week's conference playoffs kicking off the tournament season, Heredia said the focus during this series is on improving before every game becomes a must-win.
"It's time to get back on track and put together a full weekend," Heredia said.
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