Last Friday and Saturday the University of Illinois hockey team faced off against Michigan State University at The Ice Arena for a set of games to kick off the season.
The Illini were victorious in both bouts by scores of 4-2 and 7-2 respectively. No love was lost between the two teams as the Illini attempted to assert their dominance early in the season and the Spartans came to prove that they can play with teams at this level.
Game one on Friday night was a close battle between the squads, with the Spartans leading by a score of 2-1 at the end of the second period. However, in the third period, led by star center Eric Cruickshank, the Illini came back and put two shots past Michigan State goalkeeper Grant Luzynski to tie the game and Cruickshank struck again with an open-net goal with 3 seconds left on the clock to secure the victory.
Game two on Saturday was a brawl from the start which favored the stronger and more skilled Illini. Again the attack was led by Cruickshank who approached the game with a ferocity that set the tone for the Illini for the game. Cruickshank also scored a hat trick on the evening that helped lead Illinois to a comfortable 7-2 win.
The Illini return to action this Friday and Saturday against Lewis University at Johnny’s Ice House West before returning home the following weekend against Indiana Tech.
See the full gallery here: [gallery illini_hockey_sweeps_opening_weekend_against_msu1]
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