[Slideshow] Hockey escapes Eastern Illinois 10-7

By Aaron Smith
Taylor Vit stood on the ice, spread his arms wide and looked up to the rafters, and then pumped his fist to punctuate his 5-on-3 power play goal with just under 3:00 left to play that allowed the UK hockey team to breathe just a little easier

The goal finally iced the 10-7 victory for UK (17-2) against a surprisingly resilient Eastern Illinois team that entered the weekend unranked but gave Kentucky all it could handle.

“That goal was more relief to finally know we got through with a win,” Vit said.
Relief.  That seemed to be the consensus feeling after a decidedly disappointing performance against a team that UK beat 11-2 on Friday night before struggling 24 hours later.

“We played just good enough to win,” UK head coach Rob Docherty said.  “Everything can improve.  A win is a win, but we shouldn’t be playing just good enough this far into the season.”

The seven goals allowed were the most allowed in a win all season.  Eastern Illinois attempted 39 shots and consistently pressured goalie Derek Steinbrecher by crashing the net.  Eastern Illinois also scored two power play goals.

“We were lazy,” senior Tony Valerino said.  “We thought we would score 100 goals, and defensively we weren’t helping out Derek at all.”

The defense broke down repeatedly throughout the night.  UK found itself clinging to a slim lead the whole game, never building more than a three-goal cushion as it kept giving leads right back.

“Tonight was a hot and cold thing,” Docherty said.  “It was the first time we’ve played like that, and we just kept giving up leads.”

In the back and forth battle of goals, the Cool Cats’ first line provided the heaviest firepower of all.  Eastern Illinois was weak in front of the net, giving up plenty of open space that allowed forwards to set up and shoot almost at will.

The first line exploited that weakness time and time again.  Valerino scored four goals and added two assists and Vit took over the second and third periods with a hat trick of his own.

“The first line did have one wicked night,” Docherty said.  “They really showed their leadership skills tonight carrying us to victory.”

Even with two forwards leading the way for a dominant first line, the team as a whole knows it didn’t play as well as it could. Eastern Illinois, in a series sandwiched between playing Indiana and division challenger Ohio State, almost played spoiler.

“We escaped with the win tonight, no doubt about it,” Valerino said.  “But I think we’re fine, there’s no reason to worry.  I just want to forget about this weekend to be honest.”

Docherty would rather the team remember the need to come out strong every game, especially given that UK has established itself as a top team that everyone else guns to topple.

“Tonight will be a lesson for us,” he said.  “We thought it would be a gimme for us and it wasn’t, but we live and we learn.  We needed a game to bring us down to earth.”