As the pass was sent speeding up the ice, Icer forward Don Lamison hurled his body toward the puck. And although his balance seemed to escape him, the puck did not. But this was only the beginning.

In a truly remarkable individual effort, Lamison knocked the puck around one defender, and with the goaltender emerging from the net to meet him, the junior slid the puck past him and into the empty net --all the while falling to the ice with a defender on his back.

This was the start of an excellent evening for the Icer forward, as his one goal and two assists helped Penn State annihilate West Virginia, 13-1, Friday night at the Ice Pavilion. But afterwards, all anyone wanted to talk about was, "The Goal."

"That was an incredible individual effort by Don," Coach Joe Battista said. "I don't know how he kept his balance, but he did a great job of collecting the puck and finishing a phenomenal play."

Last season was filled with incredible efforts and tremendous goals, as Lamison racked up 25 goals and 48 assists, and was honored with both the Cecil and Trudy Smith Improvement Award and the Tammy Smith Unsung Hero Award. But this season has been a bit of a struggle for the health and human development major.

Aside from his commitment to the ice hockey program, Lamison spent the semester working as an intern at the Second Mile in State College. This organization works toward helping disadvantaged or at-risk children. As soon as his day in the office ended, it was straight to hockey practice.

"Working at both things really took its toll on me," Lamison said. "There were times where I would have rathered gone home to sleep than to practice. It wasn't that I didn't want to play, I was just always tired."

But Christmas break rejuvenated the high scoring forward, and it has been obvious by his play on the ice. In the four games since break, Lamison has totaled two goals and five assists, and is focused on doing whatever is necessary to help the team succeed.

"Don is a great player and a great goal scorer," goalkeeper Dennis Magulick said. "He's also a tremendous defensive player who does all the little things well. He is definitely a complete player."

Lamison was given the nickname, "Huge," by teammates last season, but not because of his height or weight.

"You'll see Don go into the corner for a puck or in front of the net and he'll always be getting hit or elbowed or cross checked," Magulick explained. "But no matter what happens, he always seems to find a way to get the puck in the net."

Throughout his youth, Lamison played hockey. Before coming to Happy Valley, the junior skated for Canton College, Westmont High School (PA), and the Junior Peguins. Upon graduating from Penn State, Lamison hopes to continue his involvement in the sport.