Men's Hockey: Icers head to Alaska for conference playoff round two

Arriving to find that Tuesday's practice had been canceled, senior Corey Elkins didn't sound concerned that his final home skate might have passed unceremoniously.

"It's kind of a sad thought, but I have all the confidence in the world in our guys," Elkins said. "I don't think it's going to be our last practice here."

Spoken with assurance, Elkins' comments lack the certainty that the weekend's outcome will offer. Two losses in the best-of-three conference quarterfinals series at Alaska and Ohio State is all but destined to be dateless for the fourth-consecutive NCAA tournament. Two wins, and Elkins and fellow seniors Nick Biondo and Zach Pelletier won't have to clean out their lockers just yet.

Canceling Tuesday's practice with a 4 a.m. departure looming on Wednesday, coach John Markell will ship his players north in two units. Smarting from January's 30-hour trip, which left the team marooned at Port Columbus International Airport, Markell is routing Friday's lineup through Atlanta rather than Minneapolis.

Precautions to avoid jet-lag inducing delays should help avoid a recurrence of Jan. 30's 4-1 loss.

Markell refused to cite the delay as an excuse, noting his team's listless performances against Michigan, Miami and Bowling Green in recent weeks.

The trip marks OSU's first appearance in the second round of the tournament since 2005. Only the fifth-year senior Pelletier was on that roster.

"It would be tremendous if we could get through this step, if we could get these kids to Joe Louis [Arena] as young as they are in their careers, so that they could taste what it's like, how special it is and how tough it is to get there," Markell said.

Led by two freshman named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team, Matt Bartkowski and Zac Dalpe, the underclassmen want to reach Detroit for the experience as much as they do for their experienced teammates.

"As a freshman, you have all the respect in the world for the seniors," Dalpe said. "Being a young team, you want to accomplish something for the seniors to make them go out in their last year remembering something. We're gunning for them."

For Elkins, something to remember means going out on the rink of his childhood team, the Detroit Red Wings, tenants of Joe Louis Arena.

"All year long that's been my goal," Elkins said. "Guys talk about the NCAA's and stuff like that, but my thing has been getting to the 'Joe.' "

The differing goals are not divergent. Should Elkins' be reached, his teammates' will follow suit.

"Everyone knows what we are, tied for 14th," alternate captain Sergio Somma said. "It's a big weekend for that. You want to move on and win your league anyway, so we might as well kill two birds with one stone."