By: Casey Roehl

Bloomington, IN—The Indiana University D2 Hockey Club, proud members of the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League, released their 2019-20 schedule on Friday. The Hoosiers, set to begin their first season as members of eight-team TSCHL, recorded a perfect 4-0 record against league opponents last season. Indiana University (17-7-3), finished last season ranked #13 in the ACHA D2 Central Region rankings, one ranking shy of making its first regional tournament since reclassifying to the D2 classification during the 2014-15 season.

2018-19 TSCHL Recap: Indiana joins the TSCHL following the departure of the Universities of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, who opted to become independent of any league. Cincinnati, (10-0-0-1), defeated TSCHL runner-up Miami University in the TSCHL Championship game last season, before falling to eventual D2 National Champion Florida Gulf Coast in the semi-final round of the 2019 ACHA National Tournament.

Hoosier’s Schedule Features Ranked Opponents: IU is set to face seven programs who finished their season ranked within the top-20 in their respective region.

Ohio State: (14-8), #10 in Southeast Region: IU’s first ranked opponent from the 2018-19 season finished their season with wins in four of its last five games (outscoring opp. 29-13). The last time IU faced Ohio State was during the 2015-16 season when the Buckeyes swept the Hoosiers at the Ohio State Ice Rink. The Buckeyes recorded a 1-1 record in the 2019 Southeast Regional Tournament, a 13-4 win against Virginia and a 7-5 loss against Cincinnati in the semi-final round capped the OSU season.

The Hoosiers travel to Columbus, Ohio on September 27, 28th at the Ohio State Ice Rink.

University Cincinnati: (19-5), #4 in Southeast Region: The Bearcats, in their final season as members of the TSCHL, fell to the University of Miami Ohio in the league championship game, although, Cincinnati would advance to the 2019 ACHA D2 National Championships, where they would ultimately fall to FGCU in the national semi-final. Two Bearcats (Nick Okada, Danny Mateja), were named as members of the 2018-19 ACHA First-Team All-Southeast Region. Mateja finished with a team-best 62 point, 28 goal season, finishing within the top-15 in the nation in each respective category. Okada, scored a career-best 42 points while registering a team-low 2 PIM. The Bearcats had five players within the top-10 in points scored in the TSCHL last season.

The Bearcats host IU at the Northland Ice Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 18, 19th.

Ohio University: (10-10-1), #14 in Southeast Region:

The Bobcats failed to record at least 15 wins for the first time in 10 years after finishing two spots out of the 2018-19 Southeast Region tournament. OU, led by Head Coach Matt Geib also failed to have a player post more than 40 points for the second time in the last three seasons. CJ Hoy registered a team-leading 34 points last season on 15 goals. Hoy also finished with 83 PIM, second most in the nation among D2 programs, behind former Hoosier Christian Schurmann-Colicchio’s nation-leading 94 PIM.

The Hoosiers host the Bobcats on October 25, 26th in Bloomington at Frank Southern Ice Arena.

University of Louisville: (12-14-1), #12 in Southeast Region:

The Cardinals for the second consecutive season failed to reach the 20-win plateau following the first sub-500 season in head coach Brian Graham’s tenure with Louisville. The Hoosiers defeated the Cardinals 6-3 last season in the 2018 Louisville Showcase, a game which featured four goals by IU’s all-time leading goal scorer Christian Schurmann-Colicchio. The Hoosiers are 3-5 against the Cardinals since joining the D2 classification in the 2014-15 season. Louisville was led last season by Yannis Soukas’ team-leading 81 points, 3rd highest in the nation. The Banff, Ontario native retired as a top-10 scorer in ACHA D2 history.

The Hoosiers will play their first of five home and home series of the season against the Cardinals on November 8, 9th. IU hosts the first game on the 8th, then will travel to Louisville on the 9th for the second game of the set.

University of Kentucky (18-4-1-3), #17 in Southeast Region:

The Wildcats enter the season with back-to-back winning campaigns after posting a 3-20 season in 2016-17. Kentucky, under second-year head coach Tim Pergram, were swept in the season series against IU last season during IU’s senior weekend. Kentucky graduates Eric Williams, the program’s all-time leader in wins, save percentage, and GAA. Kentucky is one of six non-conference programs (DePaul, Bradley, Cincinnati, Michigan, Illinois State) that IU has scheduled for the season.

Indiana travels to Lexington on November 22, 23rd for the last road trip of the fall semester.

Miami University (18-10-1), #7 in Southeast Region:

The Redhawks failed to reach the 20-win mark for the first time in over five years last season. However, Miami, led by head coach Taylor Ley managed to muscle out 18 wins and the first TSCHL championship in Miami history. Noah Klinsky notched a team-leading 34-point, 17-goal season last season in Oxford. The two-game set marks the first time in two years IU and Miami face-off. The Redhawks swept a home and home series back during the weekend of October 28, 29th of the 2016-17 season.

The Hoosiers and Redhawks play host to another home and home series in the first action for IU in the spring semester on January 17, 18th. Game one takes place at Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio on the 17th before the series shifts to Frank Southern Ice Arena in Bloomington on the 18th.

University of Michigan (14-5-1), #12 in Central Region:

The Wolverines are no stranger to the Hoosiers. Michigan, the final qualifier for the 2018 Central Regional Tournament finished one ranking ahead of Indiana last season. The former Great Midwest Hockey League foes have met seven times since IU reclassified to the D2 classification.

Michigan, led by head coach Ryan Brown posted a career-best 14-win season since becoming bench boss in 2014-15.

The Hoosiers begin their season on September 20th against DePaul University in game one of a two-game set at Johnny’s Icehouse in Chicago, IL.

Complete IU schedule available on iuhockey.pointstreaksites.com