Lady Icers to make debut in established tournament

The Penn State women's ice hockey team has grown accustomed to traveling. The 1997-98 squad has played 10 of its 14 contests on enemy ice. This weekend, the Lady Icers will once again pack their bags, board a bus and hit the road -- destination, Potsdam, N.Y.

However, the environment this weekend will be far different than others the Icers have experienced. For the first time in their brief existence, the Icers will compete in an established collegiate tournament.

The invitation to the All-East Regional Club Championship Tournament hosted by Clarkson University will give the Lady Icers the opportunity to gain experience playing against other eastern university club teams, some of which have already been established for several years.

The Icers will first hit the ice against Southern Maine at 9:30 tonight. Tomorrow they play two contests against Massachusetts and Trinity. Jessica Ferrer, who has officially taken over head coaching responsibilities for this tournament, plans to implement more frequent line changes in order to keep her squad fresh throughout all three games. Fatigue could play a major factor in the amount of success the Lady Icers obtain in the tournament.

Penn State is bracketed in Pool B of the tournament along with Massachusetts, Trinity College and Southern Maine. Pool A is composed of Clarkson, MIT, North Country Community College and Skidmore College.

In addition to increasing their experience on the ice, the Icers hope to meet new teams and gain name recognition.

"By going to this tournament we hope to gain a stronger knowledge of each other," Ferrer said. "But additionally, I would like our team to represent Penn State's women's ice hockey program with a sense of class."

In practices this week Ferrer and the rest of the coaching staff have tried get away from playing "dump and chase" hockey, stressing for the Icers to be more aggressive. The squad understands every detail needs to be emphasized when playing top-notch competition.

"We are not going to get any better as a team until we start playing teams that are better than us," goaltender Missy Werner said.

Ferrer, a former player for Boston University, has helped the Lady Icers prepare for what to expect in this tournament, explaining how tournament play is much different than their regular season contests. Even though they will be short-handed and inexperienced, players and coaches have lofty expectations going into tournament play.

"I know they are going to be nervous," Ferrer said. "Hopefully, their nervousness can be channeled into positive energy. One of our goals this tournament is to have a Lady Icer make the all-tournament team. I really feel we have a couple of girls who could accomplish that feat."

Ferrer said most importantly they want to have fun, and ideally she would love to play a fourth game in this tournament. If the Icers finish either second or first in their pool, they would play in either the consolation or championship game Sunday morning.

"I want to come home with a winning feeling," forward Anne Leone said. "All season we have been improving and playing tough teams really close. This weekend we want to rock 'em."