Illinois hockey head coach Chad Cassel is a man of a few words, and during Senior Night on Feb. 27 at the Big Pond, he had them — and they couldn’t have been said any better.

Gathered at the team’s bench were the families of the seniors and the 10 players themselves — a bookend of goalies, with a collection of attitudes and talent to back them up in between. The 10 represented a blend of records, role players and gritty play needed to compile a 123-29 record at the time and reach three ACHA Final Fours and two National Championship games, with one more ride to go.

After downing Indiana in overtime that night to cap off a weekend sweep of the Hoosiers, the Illini players, particularly those seniors, were more confident than ever for that final ride in the ACHA National Tournament.

“That’s how our team has been this year — up and down and all around, but I like to think our team winning in overtime is symbolic of our team,” captain Pierce Butler said that night. “We are getting goals from a bunch of guys and we’ll take that momentum into nationals.”

In addition to a variety of players contributing goals, the power play finally found its stride. After collecting five goals in the series against Indiana, Illinois followed up that success with three in the opening game of the tournament last Saturday.

Illinois buried Stony Brook 7-0 in that game and was playing as complete as it had all season — with a renewed confidence after the final skate at the Big Pond. The Illini looked poised to make it a fourth Final Four in a row — until their fifth meeting with Iowa State.

In the opening 60 minutes on Sunday, the Illini spotted the Cyclones an early 2-0 lead only to fight back to even the score in the second period in a fashion the Illini hadn’t shown all season.

No one scored in the third period. At certain points, each team had its chances to throw the final punch, but neither could connect.

What had been a long, physical game already would have to be settled in overtime — a dramatic ending that the Illini had plenty of experience with this past semester.

But the script and the ride ended right there.

Less than a minute into overtime, the season came to an end, as Iowa State put home the game-winner and punched its tickets to the semifinals. For all the bad bounces the Illini had throughout the season, the one that led to the game-winning goal hit the hardest.

“I really believe we could have taken all of this (the tournament) instead of one bad bounce going against us and ending our season,” forward Tim Gilbert said following the loss.

Unlike the celebration a week before, there would be no reflection or chance to soak up their last minutes on the ice.

For some of those seniors, they had bypassed college initially to play a couple of seasons of juniors, one of them being senior forward Tom Connell. After the Indiana game, he remarked that he had tried to prepare for that game like any other and not let the emotions get to him, but it was impossible. He added that the feeling of his days on the Big Pond being numbered hadn’t sunk in yet.

Upon leaving the locker room on Sunday after the tournament loss, bag and hockey sticks in hand for the last time in blue and orange, Connell showed hints of the emotion that came with such a heavy loss — perhaps signs of the weight of his Illini career ending finally sinking in.

Senior Mike Burda talked about how, after Senior Night, everything from the introductions to his parents being there had been a little bit of a shock. Could anything have been any more shocking than how quick his final game ended against Iowa State?

In typical fashion, Burda was still able to see the glass half full, to always look at the high notes of his time at Illinois. He even included that wrenching loss to Iowa State as a high point because of how hard they battled back.

“It’s been a hell of a year,” he said, his final comment of the season.

The aura surrounding the tournament had a different feel than in the past. Played in Bensenville, Ill., a short ride away from O’Hare Airport, most of the players were afforded the luxury of sleeping in their own beds at home, being fed decent meals for a change, and coming and going when they pleased without worrying about curfews.

But on the same token, not staying together didn’t afford them the opportunity to share the experience of this run, through the highs and the lows, like Sunday.

One by one, the players filed out of the locker room with their gear, saying their goodbyes to team trainer LeeAnn Price and going out to the lobby to greet their families before hitting the road. For the seniors, it was the path back to school to resume their lives after Illini hockey.

The final comments Cassel made before the game on Senior Night gave quick bios and bestowed accolades upon the individual seniors — little tid-bits including their career statistics, hometowns and what they’re majoring in at Illinois that perhaps provided a more common definition of who those players will be moving forward as in life.

But he finished up by stating the real meaning of this class as one of the best he had ever had in his time at Illinois, and despite the bow out against Iowa State on Sunday, the best class the Illinois hockey program has ever had, tournament-wise.