Icers win Nittany Lion Invitational

Blue and white banners hanging from the ice pavilion rafters show the dominance the Penn State ice hockey team has in its own Nittany Lion Invitational Tournament. Going into this past weekend, the Icers won 11 out of 15 Invitational Tournaments, including the last four in a row.

And after an 11-2 drubbing of the University of Buffalo in the first round Friday, the Icers seemed on their way to number five. But for at least one period of hockey Saturday it looked as if the Icers would have trouble extending their NLIT streak. Towson State played a strong first period against the Icers in the championship game, holding Penn State to a 0-0 tie.

Adjustments were made by the Icers between periods, however, and the steaming locomotive called the Penn State offense rolled on. A dominating power play and a strong performance by goaltender John Sixt gave the Icers (15-6, 15-3 ACHA) their fifth straight Nittany Lion Invitational title, 6-0.

"You could get used to this," Icer coach Joe Battista said. "I don't mind winning and winning convincingly in our own tournament."

Towson State, which made it to the championship match by defeating Erie Community College, 8-5, was effective keeping the Icers at bay throughout the first period.

The Tigers (20-4-1) countered Penn State's two-man forecheck by making quick outlet passes out of their own zone, trapping two skaters behind the play. This kept the Penn State offense from creating turnovers and generating offense in the Towson State zone and kept the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes.

"We were a little frustrated in the first," Sixt said. "A 0-0 tie was not what we wanted."

The Penn State coaching staff changed the team's forechecking strategy between periods, going to a one-man forecheck that allowed the Icers to create more scoring chances.

The Icers opened the second period with a 4-on-3 power play thanks to a Towson State interference penalty that carried over from the first. It took the Icers' power-play unit just over a minute to get a shot past Tiger goaltender Vikram Gupta.

Icer defenseman Don Coyne sent a pass from the left point to Jeff Adams at the right point position. Adams quickly fired a bullet of a pass to Rich Martha in the slot, who shot the puck low stick-side past Gupta.

Freshman Jason Dickey made the score 2-0 with another power-play goal just over two-and-a-half minutes later when he picked up the puck behind the Towson State net, spun to avoid a check and pushed a wrap-around shot past Gupta with just four seconds left on the penalty. Dickey, who was named to the all-tournament team, added another power-play tally later in the period.

Adams, Mike Pietrangelo and Andrew Barnes also scored for Penn State.

Special teams play was crucial in the penalty-filled contest. The Icer power-play unit was on fire against the Tigers, going 5-of-8 with the man-advantage. Penn State was 7-of-13 on the power play the entire weekend.

Penn State's penalty killers were outstanding as well, killing all 10 Tiger chances Saturday. Led by players like Barnes, who was named tournament MVP, and forward C.J. Patrick, the Icers penalty killers frustrated the Tigers power play all night by blocking shots, tying up sticks and pressuring players into forcing bad shots and passes.

Sixt, who stopped all 29 shots he faced Saturday, gave his team's penalty killers a lot of credit for the win.

"The scouting report was that (Towson State) had a really good power play," Sixt said.

Notes:

• Dickey's two goals Saturday ties him for the team lead with Adams and Martha. All have 13.
• Defenseman Paul Shuttleworth, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored a goal and added three assists against the Thundering Herd. Shuttleworth's goal, which came just eight seconds after a goal by Dickey, set an Icer record for the fastest two goals in a period.
• Icer defenseman Jurgen Cautreels was ejected from the game for fighting with Buffalo's Jacob Coniglio. Cautreels and Coniglio, who also was ejected, were suspended for Saturday's games.
• In the consolation game, Erie (14-7) defeated Buffalo (11-7), 4-3.
• While Battista worked for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the past, Towson State assistant coach Gary Rissling can claim more than that. Rissling played parts of seven seasons in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. In 221 games, he scored 53 points and amassed 1,008 penalty minutes.