Battista pep talk fires Icers to two-game sweep of Erie

By JIM IOVINO
Collegian Sports Writer

After playing what Icer coach Joe Battista called an "uninspired game" in Penn State's 5-1 win over Erie Community College Friday night and another sloppy period to start the second game against Erie on Saturday, Battista gave his team an old-fashioned "butt chewing" in the locker room before the second period.

His tirade worked because the No. 1 Icers (27-5-1, 19-3-1 ACHA) came out flying in the second, pounding the Kats (13-12-1) with eight goals on 20 shots en route to a 13-4 win.

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"Coach just told us that we're a No. 1 team and we should play like a No. 1 team," said forward Ed Bursich, who scored twice Saturday after missing three weeks with a knee injury.

After the two teams traded power-play goals to open the scoring in the first, the Icers took the lead with another power-play tally by defenseman Brad Hamel. With Erie forward Jason Radt in the box for holding C.J. Patrick, Brent Brower picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, crossed the blue line and passed back to Hamel, who shot a low slapshot that found its way past screened Erie goaltender Patrick Oliver.

The rest of the period was highlighted by bad penalties by both teams. Every time the Icers got a power-play chance, they negated it with a penalty of their own. Twice Icer defenseman Don Coyne was called for penalties while the Icers had a man advantage. His second slashing call of the period ended a four-minute power-play opportunity just 30 seconds after it began. Then, with the teams at four-on-four, Brower was called for interference with two seconds left in the period.

The bad penalties and missed scoring opportunities reminded Battista too much of the day before, so he let his team know it between periods. A refocused Icer squad came out for the second and immediately started applying offensive pressure. When Coyne's penalty expired early in the second, he went straight to the bench and was replaced by forward Jeff Adams. As soon as he hopped the boards, Adams received a lead pass, sending him on a breakaway against Oliver. Oliver made a pad save, but the breakaway was a sure sign of things to come.

Just seconds after Adams' breakaway, freshman Alon Eizenman pushed his own rebound past Oliver to make it 3-1. Two minutes later, Mike Pietrangelo scored on the power play, followed by goals by Patrick and Brower to make the score 6-1. The rout was on.

Icer goalie John Sixt exited the game shortly thereafter to give Mark Scally playing time. Scally was greeted by Erie's Mike Jones, who beat the cold goaltender on a shorthanded breakaway seconds after he entered the game. It was the first shot Scally faced.

But by the time the Zamboni took the ice after the second period, the Icers had the game in hand, 10-3. The final period was filled with penalties due to frustrations on both sides. Icer defensemen Coyne and Jason Zivkovic were tossed from the game in the third with misconduct penalties, leaving a big hole on the blue line. With only four defensemen left, forwards Rich Podulka and Pietrangelo moved back to defense.

"It was a shock to see them out there," said Hamel, whose second goal of the game came on a wicked wrist shot that clanged off the crossbar. "We told them we could go with four (defensemen), but they wanted to do it."

Notes:

Anthony Annexy manned the Icer goal on Friday night, stopping 23 of 24 shots to get the win . . . Zivkovic and Coyne continued their battle for most points by an Icer defenseman in one season. Both have eclipsed the old record of 53 set by John Farrall in 1994-95 . . . Adams, a Lady Byng-type player, picked up his first three penalties of the season over the weekend. He was called for roughing and elbowing in the second period Friday and added an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second Saturday.