The Eastern hockey club will have its work cut out for it this Saturday, taking on the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign Division I team at the Illinois Ice Arena.

The Panthers had previously faced the Illini’s Division II team on Sept. 20 at the David S. Palmer Arena in Danville, and lost 11-6. The second game in the series was canceled. The two teams were set to meet again in Bloomington the weekend of Nov. 16, but that game was also rescheduled. The Panthers will take on the Illini’s Division II team for the second time this season on Tuesday Feb. 4 in Danville.

But on Saturday, with DePaul backing out of its scheduled game with the Illini’s Division I team, the Panthers were asked to play as a replacement on the schedule.

“The U of I DI team called us a couple of weeks ago and asked us to play them this weekend because their opponent backed out for some reason,” Eastern senior forward and club president Andrew Maronich said.

The Illini Division I team is at a level of competition much higher than Eastern, which made the team hesitant at first to accept the offer, Maronich said.

“Initially, we were hesitant about it because of the large skill difference between our two clubs,” he said. “But after thinking more about it, we thought that it would be a good experience for our team to play competition like this no matter of the outcome.”

Maronich said with the team having a tough schedule of its own coming up, featuring games against Arkansas, Missouri State, Saint Louis, and the rematch with the Illini Division II team, the Panthers could use the added challenge to prepare.

Maronich said in his four years on the Eastern hockey team, the Panthers have never played a Division I opponent.

The Illini have lost two straight, coming off a sweep against Lindenwood, where they lost 7-1 and 4-1 on the road last weekend. Overall, the Illini are 13-13-1, and are 8-5-1 at their home ice.

The Panthers played two series during winter break, losing two games each to Louis University and Robert Morris University. Junior forward Ryan Howard scored three of Eastern’s four goals in the series against Louis.

Eastern senior forward Chris Gallagher said after the four losses that the team needs to make better decisions with the puck.

“We played well and our defense was very good in both of those series, but when you make bad decisions with the puck in the neutral zone and even more importantly, our zone, it’s hard to win games,” he said.

The Panthers were plagued with limited available players during the games during break, forcing the team to play with just two lines and four defensemen. Gallagher said he was impressed with the way the first year players have stepped up in the tougher stretches of the season.

“(Freshman forward) Steve Kinnison has been a huge factor for us this year, playing the center position like a veteran,” Gallagher said. “It’s great to see the rookies play well, especially for a guy like myself who is graduating in May.”

When playing a more experienced team like the Illini, Maronich said it is important for the team, especially the younger players, to just play their game and not get caught up in anything else.

“As long as we all go out there and give 100 percent, that’s all we can ask for,” he said.

For the Illini, sophomore defenseman John Olen is one of three players with a team-high 22 points this season. Olen is the team’s leading goal scorer with 12. Senior forward Eddie Quagliata is the team’s leading assist man with 13.

Senior Nick Clarke has recorded the most minutes of any Illini goalie, boasting an 89.87 save percentage. He has allowed 56 goals this season and has a 3.42 goals against average.

Senior Andrew Teske has been the starter for Eastern all season, and will likely start against Illinois.

Despite the obvious differences between the two teams, Maronich said the close rivalry Eastern has with Illinois always gives the Panthers extra motivation heading into Champaign.

“I feel like since they are a bigger school and more well known they don’t take us as seriously,” he said. “We play with more of a chip on our shoulder when we play the Illini.”

The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Ice Arena.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.