Kent State plans to make noise at Nationals

March 5, 2010

On Friday the Flashes hit the road to travel to the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament in Chicago. Kent State is ranked No. 12 in the country and will face off against No. 5 Iowa State in the opening round on Saturday afternoon.

"We're ready to rumble," goalie Anthony Natali said. "We've swept Iowa State before, and we know we have what it takes to beat them."

While the Flashes did sweep the Cyclones early in the season, they were shut out by Iowa State 5-0 just two weeks ago at the Central States Collegiate Hockey League playoffs.

"We learned from that loss," goalie Ryan Gregory said. "We need to play our own game and be patient."

Head coach Jarret Whidden said that the team got frustrated easily in the last game against Iowa State. This time around the players will work on keeping that in check.

Kent State hopes to use their skill and speed to advance to the second round of the tournament. This is the team's fourth consecutive appearance at Nationals, and the players are hoping that experience will serve them well against other teams.

“I know that the seniors won’t be nervous,” defenseman Jon Moser said. “We’ve been to Nationals every year that we’ve been at Kent State, and that experience will help us.”

The rookies on the team are just as excited about Nationals, and they’re looking at the tournament as a great way to gain experience for future seasons. With a core group of players graduating this year and next year, the younger players will need to step up and take leadership roles soon.

In practice this week, the team was focused on keeping practice simple without putting too much emphasis on the tournament.

“We’re pretty calm right now,” forward Andy Hanno said. “Everyone seems pretty confident right now. We’re hoping to make some noise.”

Several players repeated the feeling that they know they’re good enough to play with the top teams in the country, and they will carry that attitude into the first round.

“This has been our main goal all year,” defenseman Josh Martin said. “We know we can play against the top teams, we just have to bring our best game.”

The Flashes will hit the ice at noon on Saturday. A live stream of the game is available for a fee from FASTHockey at www.fasthockey.com. Also, check the team’s Facebook and Twitter pages for score updates.