Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998

Ice Lion getting revved up for postseason

By STEPHEN ROTHROCK
Collegian Sports Writer

It's almost midnight on Feb. 14 and the Penn State Div. II Ice Lion hockey team has been practicing for two hours. Certainly not the place you would expect to find young men on Valentine's Day night. But this is how they have been spending the majority of their Saturday nights since September.

The team's efforts have been rewarded as it has completed the regular season with an impressive 19-3-1 record. A bitter 2-2 tie at West Virginia is the only blemish on its record since November. The Ice Lion has again been extended invitations to compete in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Hockey Association (WPCHA) and the National Div. II American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Tournaments.

This weekend, the Ice Lion will be at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to defend their WPCHA championship. The tournament will include teams from IUP, West Virginia and Penn State-West (a team comprised of western region campuses). The Ice Lion would relish the chance to get revenge against West Virginia in the championship game.

Ice Lion Brett Aber rifles a slap shot against Wagner on Jan. 22 in the ice pavilion. After a 19-3-1 regular-season record, Aber and his teammates set out to defend their WPCHA championship this weekend. (Collegian File Photo - click for full size image)

"We have built a rivalry with them based on competition. West Virginia feels that we took their invitation to the nationals," Ice Lion coach Mo Stroemel said. "We need to show them we earned our invitation while they would like nothing more than to show the ACHA they picked the wrong team."

Ice Lion captain Dan Horowitz loves the depth of this year's team. It has been tested several times due to injuries, including a three-week period when he was out.

"We have a very young team," he said, "but everybody has responded so well you forget they're in their first year."

He is confident in his team heading into the postseason tournaments. Injured assistant captain Brian Martin, ready to return from injury himself, said the team's speed is it's greatest attribute.

"This is my fourth year and this is by far the fastest team we've had," he said. "We've had some fast guys, but overall . . . this team is faster."

Assistant coach Vinnie Scalamogna has been a part of every Ice Lion team and agrees this year's squad is the best he's seen.

"This is the best team we've had," he said. "The new guys came here with more talent and experience than any class we've had."

The team gets the chance to prove this again during the Div. II National Tournament hosted by Rutgers at the Sports Arena in Bridgewater, N.J., March 4-7. The top four teams of four regions will compete in the tournament.

The Ice Lion lost the championship game last year to Life University and would love the chance to play in the finals again this year. Stroemel predicted success.

"We came in second place last year," he said, "and have every intention of doing better this year."