Power plays help Illini hockey pick apart Eagles on the road

In its final tuneup before next week's conference tournament, top-ranked Illinois remained undefeated and made quick work of No. 22 Robert Morris, winning 6-1 Friday and 5-2 Saturday in Bensenville, Ill.

Team captain Drew Heredia and freshman Daniel Cohen led the way with three goals each in the series as the Illini improved to 29-0-0 on the year and a perfect 18-0-0 in Central States Collegiate Hockey League play.

Illinois never trailed in either contest, a welcomed change from the tight, physical games the Illini survived in past weeks.

Before the series, the Illini's last three games had each been decided by only one goal.

"We've gotten off to some rough starts, and we've been in too many close games," Heredia said.

"It was nice to get a couple where we pretty much dominated the game."

Despite concerns over special teams going into the series, the Eagles (12-22-0, 5-13-0 CSCHL) found themselves completely outmatched after penalties.

Illinois scored 10 of its 11 goals on the power play while not allowing a goal during all six penalty kills.

"They gave us a lot of power plays, and we're going to be faster than a lot of teams, so we'll draw a lot of penalties," Heredia said.

The senior added the Illini had been "a little lax" on the power play in recent weeks, but heavy practice time spent on special teams during the week refocused the offense.

"Sometimes you see you've got an extra man on there on the power play, and you can take off, when really those are the times where you should be taking advantage of it as much as possible," Heredia said.

Cohen's three goals also provided a much needed spark for the Illini attack, as the rookie winger hadn't found the net since Jan. 12.

"It's hard as a freshman - we don't play as many games as you do in high school. We only play on the weekends," Heredia said.

"So when you're in a slump, you have all week to think about it, and it kind of weighs on you, but he stepped it up."

The series also served as a preview for the approaching CSCHL playoffs.

The Illini will play the Eagles, the No. 8 seed, in the first round of next weekend's tournament at Champaign's Ice Arena.

"It was good to make a statement against these guys," Heredia said.

Top performers

The Illini's sweep of Robert Morris was fueled by an 11-goal scoring blitz. These Illini led the way in scoring and assists over the weekend:

Name Goals Assists Points

Jason Nemeth 2 4 6

Drew Heredia 3 2 5

Daniel Cohen 3 2 5

Alex Park 2 2 4