The Lancers write-up comes from Tom in Wahoo. Thanks for the article!
The Lancers travel to Indy this weekend for a pair of games this weekend against the Ice. The teams have split 2 games this year with the Lancers winning 3-1 in October and the Ice winning at the MAC 4-2 on December 28th.
The Lancers will be without Patrick Wiercioch due to a thumb injury and Joe Diamond is still recovering from an ankle injury and is "day to day" at this time. The Lancers battled the flu bug last weekend with Keir Ross playing through the flu, and Shane Madolora missing both games last weekend.
In alot of ways, these two teams are very similar to each other, and match up evenly with each other. Both teams have very skilled forwards, have depth at forward, play solid "D", and have quality goaltending.
The Lancers did play much better last weekend taking two games from Des Moines and edging Tri-Cities on Sunday. Like almost every hockey game, this weekend will be decided by three things:
1. Special teams - Neither team has generated much on the power play this year against the other. If either team can punch in a couple of power play goals, they will likely be in great shape. Indy has an impressive power play, and moves the puck quickly to generate alot of backdoor chances.
2. Forecheck - When the Lancers have skated and checked this year, they have played well. When they stand or reach for the puck, they are a poor to average team.
3. Goaltending - The Lancers have a solid 1-2 punch with Michigan State recruit Drew Palmisano and Shane Madolora. Both have the ability cover defensive mistakes made by the Lancers. The Ice have Scott Darling. He is one of the biggest goalies I have seen play. Darling plays angles well, and obviously fills up a ton of net.
This will be an intesting series as the Lancers currently lead the West and Indiana leads the East. Indiana plays well at home at 14-2-2 and the Lancers are respectable on the road at 10-6-2.
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