Three senior Icers facing the final act of Lion careers

In their first season, they got spoiled.

As freshmen on the Penn State men's ice hockey team, forwards Jeff Adams, Mike Pietrangelo and Tom Westfall made it to the ACHA national title game. But they haven't been back since.

"I had a great four years," Pietrangelo said. "I'm gonna miss it. It's gonna be very emotional. Hopefully, I'll go out on a positive note and win the game."

Their emotions are not only for leaving the game they love, but also for leaving many friends behind after graduation.

"We've played four years straight for a school like this," Adams said, "and to have all of your buddies here and to leave, it's going to be different."

Westfall and Pietrangelo played two years ago with former Icer Eddie Kmit on "The Crash Line," using their size to terrorize their opponents. With Kmit gone, the remaining two "Twin Towers of Terror" still throw their bodies around, but their line now includes the skillful 5-foot-7 Adams, affectionately called "Turtle" by his teammates.

But what playing together has meant off the ice is what will be cherished by these three the most.

"It meant a lot," Pietrangelo said. "We became best friends. It's a friendship that will probably last a lifetime."

Adams was the one who got Rookie of the Year honors back in 1994-95, scoring 32 points on 13 goals and 19 assists. But because he was sidelined with a concussion, his offensive abilities weren't available for the Icers in that season's national championship game.

Because of this and a history of injury problems, Adams and the Icers have petitioned the ACHA to give him one more year of eligibility, a decision that recently rendered a tied verdict in committee.

"Jeff shouldn't be punished because he had bad luck with injuries," coach Joe Battista said. "He missed almost two seasons because of numerous reoccurring injuries and things. I'm still optimistic that we might get him back."

But no matter what happens this Saturday, when the scoreboard reads 0:00 for the last time this season, the emotions of the last game will be overwhelming.

"It's going to be hard," Westfall said. "It's really hard to come here and play in front of two to three thousand people, depending on where you are. It's awesome. I'm gonna miss it a lot.

"But that's part of life, part of graduating. I'm just excited about it."

When asked what their most memorable experience as Icers will be, Pietrangelo and Adams just looked at each other and smiled.

"It would be winning the national championship this year," Pietrangelo said.

And what a way it would be to go out on top like that.