November 11, 2007 - The Illini put the beating on the Billikens this past weekend, putting 102 shots on goal, netting 14 goals from 10 different Illini players, including Tom Connell who earned a hat-trick on Saturday night, as the Illini pounded Saint Louis 6-1 on Friday and then blanked them 8-0 the following night.

On Friday night the Illini shut down the Billikens offense, giving up only 10 shots on goal and controlling most of the play. The Illini started the game off with a power play goal in the first period, and added one more goal before the period would end. The Illini put in another pair of goals in the second before allowing the Billikens to finally get on the board early in the third period. The Illini would add another pair of goals in the third period, giving them the 6-1 victory. While each Illini goal was scored by a different player, freshman Daniel Cohen seemed to always be in the right place as he assisted on three of the six goals.

Saturday night the Illini would give up almost twice as many shots as the night before, but goaltenders DJ Kohler and Nick Pecoraro, who would get his first playing time for the Illini, were solid in net as they shut out the Billikens. The Illini would run up a 3-0 lead in the first period, with two of those goals coming from Tom Connell. The Illini would add in a couple more goals in the second period to extend their lead to five. The Illini would find the back of the Billiken net three more times in the third, including Connell's third goal. Junior Jordan Pringle would assist on 3 of the Illini goals, while Daniel Cohen and Drew Heredia would each get two helpers in the 8-0 win.

The two wins earned the Illini 8 CSCHL points and put them into a three way tie for first place in the league. The Illini return to league play after Thanksgiving break to take on Western Michigan University in a pair of 4 point games.

( Game One Box Score ) ( Game One Recap )
( Game Two Box Score ) ( Game Two Recap )