The doubts have been erased and the questions have been answered.

Despite key injuries, inexperience and three of the top five nationally ranked opponents, the Icers won two of three games in the Chicago Classic Tournament last weekend.

The only blemish of the weekend was a 7-5 loss to No. 1 North Dakota State in Sunday's tournament final. The No. 6 Icers (9-2) cruised by No. 4 Iowa State, 10-3, Saturday afternoon, and upset No. 2 Illinois, 6-2, Friday night.

"I think all in all the weekend went very well," co-captain Mark Cervellero said. "We proved that we can be very competitive with anyone."

The game with North Dakota State was a rematch of last season's ACHA tournament final, and once again Penn State came up just short. After falling behind 3-0 in the first period and trailing 5-1 in the second period, the Icers came alive.

When defenseman Eddie Kmit notched his second power play goal of the game midway through the third period, Penn State pulled within 5-4. The Icers were then whistled for a questionable penalty, and the Bisons capitalized on the power play, regaining a two-goal lead and control of the game.

"It was a great game, but unfortunately we came up a little short," Coach Joe Battista said. "We went into the game as a big underdog, and almost pulled off the upset."

Although the Icers started slowly against North Dakota, this was not the case in either of the other weekend contests. Iowa State could not contain the Penn State offense, as the Icers jumped to a 4-1 first period lead en route to a 10-3 blowout.

"We wanted to come out quickly and we did that," co-captain Erik Lightner said. "We played well defensively and scored some timely goals."

Illinois was unable to handle the Penn State offense in the first period, as the Icers exploded to a three-goal lead. The defense did the remainder of the work, as goalkeeper Dennis Magulick made 33 saves in the 6-2 victory.

"The difference was goaltending -- Dennis was terrific," Battista said.

Notes:

-- Forward Rob Keegan and defenseman John Farrall were named to the all-tournament team.

-- The Icers played without defenseman Larry O'Byrne, who is out seven to 10 days with a concussion.