Fans push Icers on to final home victory

By FRANK FERRIOLA
Collegian Sports Writer

After senior defenseman John Farrall scored the final goal of the game, the chant "sieve" sounded throughout the stands. It was directed toward the Duquesne goaltender.

The Icers defeated the Dukes 14-0 in their final regular-season game on Friday night. Although the players put forth a strong effort, there was another group of people who also put out a great effort -- the fans.

"We're like the extra man that can't be on the ice," said Joe Dolheimer, a 1992 Penn State graduate and a faithful part of the Icers' cheering section.

The group of fans, which gets together for every home Icers' game and travels to some away games, has grown in numbers over the last few years, from six or seven in the beginning to about 20, Dolheimer added.

The fans are well-known at the games for their persistent cheers for the Icers and denouncements of the opposing teams. The group is always in unison and gets a lot of laughs from the rest of the crowd.

"We get (the sayings) from popular culture, like Wayne's World," said Carolyn Muse (senior-nutrition).

The quotes and sayings are aimed at the opposing team after they let up a goal or get called for a penalty. The cheers come out in numerous quantities throughout the duration of any given game.

"The sayings build up year after year," said Ed Diana, a 1990 graduate of Penn State.

There is no written record kept of the sayings and they are not practiced anytime away from the games. They are just passed down from year to year, Diana added.

"I just go with the flow," said Leland Hess, a Rock Springs resident. "The chants just flow during the games."

The opposing teams are not the only ones that hear it from these fans -- the referees are not welcomed with open arms, either. The overall message these fans are trying to deliver to anyone visiting the ice pavilion is not a gracious one.

"It's simple," Hess said. "Don't show up."

This section of fans comes together faithfully for every faceoff, every body check and every hat trick, and has been rewarded for all of their hard work.

After rustling the opposing teams for a whole season, their Icers won the last regular-season game of the year with a good, old-fashioned blowout. The team is seeded No. 1 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament, which begins in Tucson, Ariz., tomorrow.