After a game like this, Icer Coach Joe Battista was entitled to some sarcasm.

"It was a real defensive struggle," he said.

Only Scranton (0-13), an Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III team, had to struggle, as the American Collegiate Hockey Association's No. 1 Icers (12-3-1) returned to their winning ways with an 18-1 blowout yesterday.

Nine goal scorers powered Penn State to victory, including hat tricks by freshmen Brian Rolli, who scored four, and Mike Pietrangelo. Senior co-captain John Farrall also notched his first hat trick of the season.

Pietrangelo, a self-described "all-purpose player," said the game was a big confidence booster. He said he was not expecting this kind of performance from himself.

"It kind of happened," the freshman from Philadelphia said.

Rolli, who had not seen much playing time at the beginning of the season, exploded in the game, putting his season goal total at six.

"I'm just starting to get my chances," Rolli said. "It's good to go out and show I can produce."

He said the Icers played with more control than the Royals.

"We played really disciplined," he said, "and they had trouble sticking with that."

Along with the discipline, the Icers brought some leftover agression to Scranton from a heartbreaking 6-5 overtime loss to Hobart on Sunday. The Icers wanted to storm the Royals in a hurry.

"They took their frustration out," Battista said. "It was good to get back in the winning trend."

The Icers enjoyed smooth sailing with sophomore Dan Ragan getting his first start of the season in the net. He garnered the win, with 15 saves on 16 shots.

Even though there was a large talent gap between the two teams, the game proved beneficial for the Icers. The squad was able to work on game situations, like the power play, which produced three goals on five opportunities. It was also a chance for the team to relax and have some fun out on the ice.

"There aren't going to be many games like this," Battista said.

And the score could have been higher. Battista rested some of his players after last weekend's grueling three-game road trip and several freshmen benefited with the extra playing time. Battista said that after the team jumped out to a 7-0 lead at the end of the first period, he "called off the dogs."

"You hate to see such a lop-sided score," he said. "After we got off to such a good start, that really took the wind out of their sails."

Battista said that he was pleased with the defense as well. Scranton-transfer Mike Wenzel had a chance to face his former teammates and played well.

"Mike Wenzel had an outstanding game," Battista said. "He was pumped up."

Also scoring for the Icers were forwards Andrew Barnes and Rob Keegan, who had two goals apiece, and Rich Martha, P.J. Amodeo, Cliff Graziano, and Chad Markowitz with one goal.