Entering the season, there was optimism both inside and out for the program as coach Heyliger's first recruiting class was ready to join the varsity club.

New members for the Illini had brought a tremendous amount of speed, including out-of-state students like Amo Bessone (Massachusetts) and Norbert Sterle (Minnesota).

The game began with just two returning players in the starting lineup (Gillan and team captain Ziemba) while a trio of sophomores from the Boston-area were arrayed at forward.

[2] 1,800 fans showed up to see the new-look Illini and they weren't disappointed; both offensive lines were impressive and the defense looked much improved from the previous three seasons.

A couple days later the two met for a rematch and Illinois was handed its second loss on the season, again by a 1-goal margin, but the team finished out its California stay with a win over UCLA.

Illinois opened their Big Ten schedule against defending-champion Minnesota but lineup changes for both teams resulted in a more even playing field.

Joe Gannon and Amo Bessone were suffering from colds and, if that weren't enough, Starr Owen and Aldo Palazzari had been ruled ineligible.

With Owen and Palazzari in the lineup, but Gannon missing from the flu, Illinois headed up to Houghton for the first two games and dominated the Huskies.

The Wolverines were in the middle of a horrible season, possessing a 2–10–1 record to that point and the Illini took full advantage of their weakened opponent.

With most of their principle players still just sophomores, the team was expected to compete for the championship in each of the next two seasons at least but circumstances would change drastically at the beginning of the next year.

His efforts throughout the year were so spectacular that, rather than continue with the Illini, he turned professional with the Kansas City Americans and spent a month with the Chicago Blackhawks (but didn't appear in any games).