Hurt Icers end regular season

By MICHAEL PALM
Collegian Sports Writer

Penn State's ice hockey team has suffered some injuries over the past few weeks, but some players could be ready for action this weekend.

The American Collegiate Hockey Association's No. 1 Icers (23-5-1) hook up with Duquesne (9-10-1) at 9 p.m. today at the ice pavilion for the Icers' last game of the regular season.

Leading the comebacks will be senior forward Dave Raymer, who is returning from a hand injury --it was skated over during a game last month. He said he has been skating and his hand has improved to the point where he can use it. But he still suffers from some pain.

"It does bother me," Raymer said. "It's something at this point that I can fight through."

The pain comes from the scar tissue on his right hand -- the bottom hand on his stick -- which absorbs the shock from shooting. Raymer resumed practicing fully this week, but he hasn't recovered his timing yet. Nonetheless, he is anxious for game action.

"I could barely stay out of the games," Raymer said. "There was a lot of emotions going through me."

Although it is the last home game for the Icers' six seniors, they are not worried about this being their last hurrah. As the top seed in the ACHA tournament, Penn State will head to the national championships in Tucson, Ariz., with hopes of winning it all.

But standing in the way are the Dukes, who bring a strong power play. Now converting at 41 percent, the Duquesne power play is led by junior Dave Michalski (27 goals, 41 assists).

"Our power play has really been the highlight of the season for us," Duquesne Coach Matt Heufelder said. "I'm not afraid to use five forwards on the power play."

This suits Icer Coach Joe Battista just fine. He said the team has been working on penalty killing situations in practice -- something that will be vital in Arizona.

"We have gotten away with some things offensively this year," he said. "We'll still do some trickery. We'll still have some tactics."

Battista said Duquesne's play could vary. One week the Dukes lost twice to Eastern Michigan but also beat Erie Community College.

"Our weakness is being young. Most of our guys are freshmen and sophomores," Heufelder said. "We have limited defense as well."