Cj O'Neil and Ben Brandsen celebrate after netting a goal
The Illini opened conference play as a Division I squad for the first time since the 2007-08 season, and while expectations were high, the Fighting Illini really didn’t know what to expect from a semester of playing only the top teams in the Great Plains region. For their welcoming game into Division I, Illinois would square off against Lindenwood (26-1, Final 4 finish at Division I Nationals last season), who had beaten them by a combined score of 21-1 the past two seasons.
The game would start in typical Lindenwood fashion: obtain possession, run the breakout, and hit the other teams zone with speed and puck movement, and the rush normally ends with a 3-2 break and the puck in the back of the net. While the first period did mainly consist of this process, one thing was lacking: goals. While Lindenwood’s defense did a great job of beating Illinois forecheckers and carrying the puck into the zone while generating 3 on 2 rushes, the Illinois defense did a good job preventing most back door opportunities, and when they chances got through goaltender Jim DeGrado’s side to side movement was unbelievable, stopping multiple back-door opportunities as Illinois went in to the second only down 1-0.
The second period started with Illinois controlling the puck, and Justin Acton would eventually find himself down low in the corner. Without many options available, Acton decided to throw a shot low towards the net from a bad angle. The shot was looking as though it would go wide of the net, but Adam Corazzi, who was fighting for position in front with a Lindenwood defender, was able to get a stick on the puck as it was about a foot off the rink and deflect it in to the upper corner of the net to tie the game at one. The game would proceed tied for the next 5 minutes until Illinois was whistled for a penalty. Just 10 seconds later, a Lindenwood centering pass would deflect on an Illinois defender’s skate and ricochet past a hopeless DeGrado for a 2-1 Lion lead. Unfortunately for Illinois, this would spark a streak for Lindenwood where they would score 3 times in the next minute, and then add another right before the period ended for a 6-1 lead. Illinois would start the 3rd period ready to get back in the game, however, as Zack Wand would blister a slap shot past the goalie glove side 40 seconds in to make it 6-2. Two minutes later, Adam Corazzi would score again on a nice play with Ben Brandsen to cut the lead in half. However, Illinois would fall victim to another quick lapse, where they would see Lindenwood score 4 times in the next 3 minutes. Justin Acton would score twice in the final 3 minutes though as the final score ended with a 10-5 Lindenwood victory. For 31 of the 36 minutes, Illinois played Lindenwood to a great game. Had it not been for the 5 minutes of the ball rolling downhill, the game could have been a little more competitive.
Illinois Player of the Game: Jim DeGrado
The Illini were next slated to play Lindenwood Gold, which is Lindenwood’s top B team. After playing the Lions’ top team to a tough game the day before, Illinois was looking for a better outcome this time around.
The Illini’s second game started out with Lindenwood Gold winning the faceoff and setting up their offense from their own zone. From that shift on, it was evident that Gold was running the same system as the top Lion team. This time, however, Illinois was able to keep the Lions to the outside much more often than the game prior, and after DeGrado made a few big saves Ben Brandsen was able to give the Illini a 1-0 lead three minutes in after getting a pass from Adam Corazzi and scoring on a wraparound. Less than a minute later, Justin Acton would score a flukey goal while sliding the puck 5-hole off his backhand nearly from the goaline. Corazzi would add his own goal shortly after on the power play after his shot was blocked but took a crazy bounce up and over the Lion netminder. Acton would score his second shortly thereafter, and the Illini were up 4-0 before the Lions finally answered just before the end of the period.
Heading into the 2nd with a 4-1 lead, the Illini didn’t want to let up as it was evident the Lions had great offensive potential. The period started with Brandsen winning the faceoff, and a nice regroup to start the period by Anthony Lupo sent Brandsen and Acton in on a 2 on 1. As Brandsen looked off the defenseman, he fired a shot short side that bounced of the goaltenders arm and into the top corner for a 5-1 Illini lead 10 seconds into the 2nd. Just 20 seconds after that, DeGroot would cause a turnover in the Lions zone with the help of Brandsen and sent a low backhander through the goalie’s 5 hole for a 6-1 Illinois lead. However, Illinois quickly found out the Lions were not going away as two quick goals 30 seconds apart made the score 6-3. Acton would stop the Lions’ run 2 minutes later as he skated into the slot on a 1-1 and ripped a shot off the crossbar and in (glove side, of course) for a 7-3 lead. This only temporarily stopped Gold, though, as they would score twice more before the period ended to cut the Illinois’ lead to 7-5.
Illinois knew they had to relax and play their game heading into the third as all the momentum was swinging in favor of the Lions. The two teams played to a scoreless third until a nice pass by a Gold player split the Illini defense, leading to a breakaway goal to make the score 7-6 with 3 minutes left in the game. After a flurry of chances by the Lions and numerous stops by DeGrado, Zack Wand skated into the slot from left-side boards uncontested and sniped a shot off the far post and in, giving the Illini an 8-6 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Fighting Illini finished off the weekend with a showdown against Missouri State, who last season had beaten the Illini 9-2 in their only meeting. This season, however, would prove to be story of teams heading in two different directions.
The Illini started the game off strong, earning a quick power play. Shortly after heading to the man advantage, Anthony Lupo would take a pass from Zach Wand and net the opening goal for Illinois. Wand would score just two minutes later, with Adam Corazzi assisting on Wand’s first of 3 goals. The Illini heavily outplayed the Bears for almost the entire period, but Missouri State would ride their goaltender and find a way to score 2 goals before the period ended with a 2-2 tie.
Illinois started out the 2nd by dominating play, forcing the Bears into obstruction penalties and putting the Illini back on the powerplay. Zack Wand would score his second of the game quickly off the first powerplay, and then 2 more Missouri State penalties gave Illinios a 4 on 2. After the Illini didn’t get a shot for the first 30 seconds or so, Wand decided he had had enough and sent a wrist shot in high off the crossbar and straight into the net, giving him a hat trick along with a 3-2 lead. Still on the man advantage, Adam Corazzi would score on a one-timer after receiving a nice pass across the slot from CJ O’Neil. Acton would round out Illinois’ scoring for the period with Wand assisting, giving the Illini a 6-2 lead before the Bears would score two goals at the end of the period to pull within 2.
The Illini, who had been dominating most of the game but were only up 2, knew they had to play a solid third period to skate away with the victory. Just 2 minutes into the 3rd, Corazzi would take a pass from Lupo and skate into the slot from the corner, wristing a shot far to the blocker side giving Illinois a 7-4 lead. The Bears would answer a minute later, but the Illini would control play for the rest of the third and add an empty netter, giving them an 8-5 victory and a 2-1 record to cap their 1st regular season weekend.
