On Friday night Andy Dumas got the chance he had been waiting for. The junior goalie, who joined the ice hockey club last spring, got his first opportunity to start for Penn State. Not only did he start, he finished and tallied his first win.

Dumas made 26 saves and let only one shot through to give the Icers a 9-1 victory. An estatic Dumas quickly gave his teamates the credit for the victory.

"A couple of times when I made mistakes the defense was right there to cover it up," Dumas said.

Dumas was a little nervous as the game began but seemed to settle down after the Icers took the lead and he had made a few saves.

"As the game wore on he seemed to gain confidence," wing Rich Filar said. "It was great to see everyone get involved and contribute."

Dumas admits that he was nervous, but he said he tried to do his best to control it.

"I was trying not to think about it. We had to be at the rink at 7:15. By 6 I couldn't sit still anymore," he said.

Dumas came to Penn State as a transfer student from University of Massachusetts where he had played intramural hockey, the only hockey available because UMass had no team. When he transfered he talked to Coach Joe Battista and began to play for Battista's IM team.

Battista aparently like what he saw, and when one of the goalies quit halfway through last season, Dumas was asked to practice with the team. This experience and playing in a competive college league over the summer helped Dumas to prepare for tryouts this season.

Dumas was pleased with the way the team reacted to him.

"I didn't have a great week in practice, but (Coach) still put me in," he said. "He showed his faith in me and the team."

Still, not wanting to take too much credit, Dumas turned back to the team.

"They wanted to see me get a win, I wanted to help keep the winning streak going for the team. I was just glad to help."

The winning streak has been extended to five, and Dumas got the chance he had been waiting for. He proved himself to everyone.

"(He) came up big -- I think he was a real inspiration for all of us," forward Dave Murphy said.