Icers Get Back To It

[Icerguy is back with another Icers update.  Make sure to lookout for a couple of great upcoming matchups.  Those of you in town can click here for directions, here for the complete schedule.  -Kevin HD]

What happened: As was mentioned in the last updated, the Icers didn't get much of a "break" for the holidays. The weekend following Christmas saw the team in Massachusetts for the Salem State Holiday Tournament to face off against a couple NCAA D3 teams. Opening the tournament against host Salem State, the Icers played a tough game against a tough team. In fact, the Icers struck first, midway through the second period. But a late goal in the 2nd, and a short-handed goal with less than 5 minutes left in the game allowed Salem State to squeak past the Icers.

The next night, the Icers played in the consolation (3rd place) game against Salve Regina - a lower-level D3 team. And the Icers took complete domination of the game - leaving Massachusetts with an 8-0 win. As for the championship game, Salem State needed overtime to defeat Bowdoin (both strong D3 programs) to take the tournament championship.

The guys got some time to relax around New Year's before starting the second half of the ACHA season. On tap - a road trip to face rival Ohio University. While the Bobcats are down this year, you can never take a team lightly. And if Friday's game was any indication, the Icers had no intention of doing so much. A tough battle found the Icers rolling to a 4-0 win. Saturday saw more physical battling and a slightly more awake Bobcat team. The teams traded shots on the ice and on the scoreboard until the Icers finally broke away, completing the weekend sweep with a 5-3 victory.

What it means: While it would have been nice to take on Bowdoin, I think the holiday tournament definitely showed that this program is moving closer and closer to being able to play with the NCAA teams. And this is without the program having scholarships or funding like their varsity counterparts.

The OU weekend is a big step back into the ACHA swing of things - there was no letdown after their tournament showing. And OU is a nasty place to play for opponents, so it was nice to get both wins. It also is how you want to start the second half of a very tough schedule that includes a number of the top teams, the league tournament, and the ACHA National tourney in March.

Included in all of this is the important return of some of the injured players. Taylor Cera's return will add some more energy to the line-up. And words cannot describe the difference in play when Captain Frank Berry is playing, and playing healthy. He was important in the wins over OU and will be huge over the remainder of the season. He hasn't won the "Flannel Shirt Award" for the past two seasons for nothing.

What's on the horizon: Coming up will easily be the telling tale of where this team is, and what can be expected of them come tournament time [The Collegian agrees! -ed]. First up on the slate is a home set against #1 Illinois, January 16th and 17th. The following weekend, Rhode Island comes to Penn State - the two teams split the first series at URI. If not how they'll play at the tournament, these two series, along with a couple more in the coming months, will at least dictate where we will be ranked in the National Tournament.

As a promotional point, Rhode Island weekend is also Alumni weekend. A number of old players usually make their way to State College for some catching up, some drinking, some hockey, and some more drinking. Usually after the Saturday game, the alumni strap themselves back up for an alumni game - always fun to watch. He'll probably be busy with a multitude of other obligations, but Joe Batista usually at least drops by to watch the games, and you never know if he'll have the time to play.