Icers look to continue solid play in home stand against MSU; prep for nationals

With anticipation of this year's ACHA national championship tournament growing, the Icers prepare to take on the Michigan State Spartans in a two-game series this weekend at the ice pavilion, starting at 9 tonight and concluding at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.

The Icers (20-8-0, 19-5-0 ACHA) have played extraordinary defense recently, shutting out their last two opponents. Penn State holds a sparkling 1.63 goals against average in the ACHA, with Icer goaltenders John Sixt, Anthony Annexy and Mark Scally combining for a team record eight shutouts. Sixt, who has four shutouts this season, is one shy of the team record of five held by John Gray.

Penn State's offense has been rolling as well, with the team scoring 16 goals in its last two contests. Freshman Jason Dickey, who leads the team in goals (25) and points (48), continues to wield the hot hand. He added five goals in last weekend's victories over West Virginia and Navy, while senior Jeff Adams contributed four goals.

The games against Michigan State (9-0-1 ACHA Division II) will give the Icers a chance to experiment with different line combinations and forechecking systems in preparation for nationals. The Spartans will throw a combination of physical play and finesse at the Icers. Penn State coach Joe Battista said after an intense week of practice, his team is ready to go.

"We're trying to work out all the kinks and do some fine tuning to get ready for nationals. We've had some real good practices these last couple weeks," he said. "I think they sense that urgency. They're excited about it. I don't think it could come too soon as far as they're concerned, but we still have four more games until we get there."

And Battista still has two more wins until he reaches the 250-win plateau. He doesn't want his personal accomplishment to overshadow the season his team has enjoyed so far, and he tried to downplay the situation.

"It means I've been here a while," he said. "If it happens, it'll be nice. But it is certainly secondary to getting ready for nationals. For me, personally, it's more a reflection of the team effort that's gone into this. The staff, the people behind the scenes and certainly the players over the years have had something to do with it. I just hope they don't do that Gatorade thing. Save that for nationals if we win it all."

The Icers received some good news this week, as center Rich Podulka was cleared to play this weekend. It is uncertain how much ice time he'll get, but it will give him a chance to work his way back into the lineup before nationals.

Podulka has been skating with the team during non-contact drills since breaking his jaw in early January, so his conditioning and endurance should be OK. Now it is a matter of getting his timing back and getting into game shape.

"He's a feisty competitor," Battista said. "We missed having him in the lineup. He'll help us considerably down the stretch."

Note:

n  The game at 9 p.m. Friday will be broadcast on 90.7 WKPS.