Casey Ikeda had put Princeton senior attackman Mike MacDonald under wraps, ending his 30-game streak with at least one point in No. 8 Maryland's 11-4 victory over the No. 12 Tigers on Saturday. But the senior defenseman shared credit with his teammates during a post-game news conference.
"We were all able to get on the same page pretty quickly and kind of sniff out some of the stuff they were running," he said.
Ikeda's humility is nothing new, Terps coach John Tillman said.
"Casey would be the first guy to tell you that when a guy doesn't score, there's a scheme involved and he's part of that scheme," Tillman said Tuesday morning during his weekly conference call. "In our scheme, Casey is critical. He's a captain for us, and he was voted as a captain by his peers and that to me says a lot. He's a redshirt guy, so he's a year older. He's been around some tremendous defensemen. I think that's one of the things that has helped his maturity. He's been able to see guys like Mike Ehrhardt and guys like Jesse Bernhardt and Bran Farrell and Brett Schmidt and Ryder Bohlander.
"There have been a great number of talented defensemen that have been here before Casey, and I think Casey's taken a little bit from everybody. He works incredibly hard, he studies the film, he stays in shape, he works on his footwork. But I think the biggest impact from Casey has been his leadership, his ability to make guys around him better. He's a selfless guy. He's very soft-spoken, but when he does say something, it carries a lot of weight and I think the guys respect him for that."
Ikeda has played a role in Maryland leading Division I in fewest goals allowed per game at 5.. The defense has given up 10 goals just once, in a 10-6 loss at No. 6 Yale on Feb. 21.
Aided by junior defenseman Matt Dunn (Loyola) and redshirt junior goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr, Ikeda has filled a void created by the graduations of Ehrhardt and goalie Niko Amato and the departure of senior defenseman Goran Murray.
Tillman said Ikeda, who ranks second on the team in caused turnovers with six and registered an assist in the win against Princeton, has seized the opportunity to lead the defense.
"With Casey, having a guy like Michael, Michael was comfortable being our leader and being a guy that was very vocal," Tillman said. "Behind the scenes, you would hear Casey here and there, but you also knew that Michael was the captain. And if Michael wasn't there or Michael needed to be complemented, Casey could complement him.
"Now I think Casey realizes, 'OK, this is my time. I want and need to be that guy.' And now there are other guys like Matt Dunn and [sophomore defenseman] Mac Pons who are where Casey was a year or two ago and what we hope is there's that natural progression that when a void is created by graduation, somebody steps up and fills that role."