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By Shoshana Burrus
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 15, 1996
There is one thing that holds true for the Illinois ice hockey team. It's unpredictable.The 15th-ranked Illini, who have won only three games, lost six, and tied one, don't appear to pose a threat to the eighth-ranked Arizona Icecats. However, Illinois' record doesn't reveal the close games it has had with some of the top-ranked teams in the country.
The Icecats (6-0) and Illinois face off at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night at the Tucson Convention Center.
"We've improved a lot this season," Illinois coach Robert Turngren said. "Our record doesn't show it, but we've gotten much better."
The one game Illinois tied was against second-ranked Iowa State, but Turngren said his team hasn't been able to hold the lead in games where it counted most.
"We're struggling on making power-play goals," Turngren said. "We've led in almost every game we've played, but we've lost the lead in the third period."
The Icecats have proved they can grab the lead and keep it. Still, Icecats coach Leo Golembiewski said Illinois will be the toughest team they have faced so far this season.
"It's hard to say what our expectations are," Golembiewski said. "They are a greater test than any other team we've played."
Illinois has a young team, having lost only three players this year. Turngren said the three players the Illini lost were important players. However, they have three solid lines.
"We don't have any standouts," Turngren said. "Our lines are equal and we have strong depth."
Depth is one thing, but consistency is another, and the Icecats are consistent when it comes to scoring goals.
"We want to get them to adapt to what we want to do," Golembiewski said.
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