Icers' Adams gets shot at ACHA tourney

There is one Icer who may be anticipating the ACHA national championships more than any of his teammates. That player is Jeff Adams, a junior forward who hasn't been able to make much of a contribution at nationals during his two other seasons with the team.

It's not because he didn't want to.

Before the ACHA national championships start in less than a week, the Icers have other worries on their minds. Penn State (22-8, 21-5 ACHA) still has to play Michigan's club team (12-9) at 9 tonight and 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in the ice pavilion.

But the Icers, who received the fourth seed in the tournament this week, are riding a seven-game winning streak into this weekend's matchups and then should ride the momentum of those two wins into Ann Arbor, Mich., for their run at the ACHA title.

Looking to contribute will be Adams, second on the team with 47 points. As a freshman, when he won team rookie of the year honors, Adams looked promising -- until he suffered the first of a series of concussions. Blurry vision, followed by headaches, put Adams on the shelf. He felt fine to play, but the team doctors wouldn't clear him because of the possibility of post-concussion syndrome.

"If I took another big hit, if I got knocked out," Adams said, "I might not wake up."

Those concussions kept him out of nationals as a freshman. His sophomore year should have been different. In the first weekend of the season, however, he injured his shoulder. The injury kept him out of the lineup for a month and, when he returned, he couldn't find his niche.

"He didn't play with the same amount of fire in his belly," Icer coach Joe Battista said. "He was very, very cautious."

Adams said he didn't contribute much at nationals as a sophomore, but that should change this season.

"He's playing with that same amount of toughness and vigor that he played with as a freshman," Battista said. "If there was a comeback athlete of the year, he'd certainly win it hands down."

Note:

n  Penn State's three seniors -- Andrew Barnes, Eddie Kmit and Rich Martha -- will be honored at the beginning of both games.

Said Battista: "They've all three had very successful careers here."