Three weeks ago, just before the semester break, the Icers experienced a three-game slump that lowered morale and caused Coach Joe Battista to publicly berate the players' character.

"I can only motivate them so much," Battista said frustratedly. "That motivation has got to come from within. If they don't have the guts and the pride to play at this level, then they ought to quit. I don't know what's going on with some of our veterans. I hate to be critical, especially in public, but I don't know what else to do to motivate a couple of these guys. Maybe they need to hear the truth."

Captain Erik Lightner feels Battista's statements were justified and hopes some marked improvement will show up in players' attitudes because of them. All other players were unavailable for comment.

"I think a lot of the things that Coach has said has basically opened a lot of people's eyes --rubbed a couple people wrong," Lightner said. "I'm hoping in a sense that it almost makes some of the veterans mad, not so much resentful or disrespectful of the coach, but I hope that it gets under their skin and that it improves something.

"The end of the semester did bring a lot of tension," Lightner continued. "I think (Battista) said that as more a motivational factor than anything just to give the guys something to think about over the break. People at home got away from hockey for a while and got a better attitude about the whole thing. We needed the break mentally more than physically."

However, Battista's frustration rages on.

"I think our team needs to learn some things." he said. "Some of these guys have got to look in the mirror and recommit to this hockey team and they (have) got to watch their rear ends away from the rink.

"They don't like to be told that they're doing something wrong but that's a part of growing up, part of maturing," Battista added. "You've got to be able to accept some constructive criticism."

Now, with one win in two games in Arizona, the dissension within the team seems to have disappeared.

"I think we're a lot more motivated," Lightner said. "Our practices are more spirited -- our performance this weekend was better than what we were showing toward the end of the semester."

This past weekend the Icers traveled from snow-covered Pennsylvania to the desert of Arizona to play the No. 2 club team and left the previously-undefeated Wildcats to think about their first loss.

"The best execution we've had all year was Friday night," Battista said. "We spent a lot of time working on defensive skills and tactics and guys were diving to block shots -- diving to poke check the puck out of the zone. They were doing whatever it took to make the play."

The Icers beat Arizona 7-3 on Friday night in front of 6,800 screaming Arizona fans. It was the biggest crowd ever to see the Icers play, and was topped the next night by Saturday's sold-out attendance of 7,200.

In the first period with Jeff Crispino in goal, the Icers outshot Arizona 20-10 but entered the second period with a 0-1 deficit. The Icers' Tom Duhamel scored the first goal of the period to tie the game. Goals by Don Lamison and Rich Martha were matched by Arizona goals until Cliff Graziano scored the Icers' fourth, giving the Icers the lead for good. Martha and Graziano each had one more goal on the night in addition to John Ferrall's third-period tally.

Saturday night found the Icers reverting to some of their old habits.

The Icers came out slow in the first period and watched Arizona rack up a 3-0 score. A three-goal comeback from the Icers was not enough to beat Arizona, who took the game, 6-3.

"They came focused and ready to play and we came out flat and it's kind of been our Achilles' heel all season." Battista said of Saturday's game, "When we get off to a slow start then we just dig ourselves too big a hole. We outshot them and I still think for the second and third periods we had the better of the play. But when you go 1-for-10 on the power play, you can't expect to win a lot of games."

Before the break, the Icers played the Erie Community Ice Kats at home and dropped both games.

On Dec. 10, the Icers let the Ice Kats score six goals in the first period before coming back with a six-goal effort before losing 7-6.

"We were trying to stay relaxed and we didn't want to get tense," Eddie Kmit said of the first period. "We've been getting a little too uptight lately and then I guess we sort of fell asleep."

"It's still been a good semester and we still have the makings of a real good hockey team here," Battista said. "We're not there yet --we have a lot of work to do."