Senior superlatives


Monday, March 2, 1998	Senior superlatives No. 1 Icers rout Div. II Findlay on Senior Day By TOM COOPER Collegian Sports Writer There's nothing like a huge win to help team going into a national championship tournament. Instead of finding a lesser team to beat on, the Penn State men's ice hockey team decided to close out its regular season with what should have been a tough game against a NCAA Div. II varsity team, the University of Findlay Oilers.
`Penn State Icers Home Page`	But the No. 1 Icers (27-5-1, 19-3-1 ACHA) treated this team like all of the others who have entered the ice pavilion in 1998, as it drilled the Oilers 8-2 in the final home game for this year's senior class. "This has got to be one of the biggest wins ever for our program at home," coach Joe Battista said.
HE SKATES . . . Icer Jeff Adams skates in all alone on the Findlay goaltender Saturday at the ice pavilion. The Icers won the contest 8-2 in the last home game for Penn State's seniors. (Collegian Photo/Andrea Elizabeth Kohler - click for full size image)	Forward Ed Bursich contributed to the effort with two goals and an assist and linemate Alon Eizenman added a four-assist performance. The game was 2-1 after 20 minutes when forward Jeff Adams, playing in his final home game, scored twice in a little more than two and a half minutes to put his team up 4-1. Both goals were assisted by Adams' fellow seniors and linemates Mike Pietrangelo and Tom Westfall. Although he did pick up those two big goals, Adams was quick to downplay the significance of his individual effort. "It was nice to go out with a win like that," Adams said. "I wasn't very concerned with my individual points, but more that the team got a good win and some confidence going toward nationals." Goaltender John Sixt picked up his 14th win of the season by stopping 37 of 39 shots, including all 20 shots in the third period when Findlay had a two-man advantage twice.
HE SHOOTS . . . Adams fends off a Findlay defender, cuts to his right and flips the puck on net. Adams, a senior, scored twice in his final home game. (Collegian Photo/Andrea Elizabeth Kohler - click for full size image)	"I told him after the game that that was, in my three years playing with him, one of his top five performances, if not the best," defenseman Jason Zivkovic said. "He just played unbelievable, looked like (Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik) Hasek out there. "They could have ended the game with five minutes left because you knew they weren't going to score." The win gave the Icers a sense of redemption from a 5-4 loss to Findlay on Nov. 9, a game that was decided by a controversial goal late in the third period. The revenge was made a little sweeter by looking at the final score. "If you would have said last night that we were going to beat this team that bad, I never would have never thought that," Zivkovic said. "It's definitely a shock."
HE SCORES . . . Adams raises one arm in celebration of one of his two goals on the night. (Collegian Photo/Andrea Elizabeth Kohler - click for full size image)	The surprising demolition was a great way to send out the Icers' five seniors, who received a standing ovation from the boisterous crowd of 1,258 fans when they posed after the game for a photo opportunity. "The crowd was great today," Zivkovic said. "It's a great senior class. They've played all four years and just done everything they've been asked by the team. It was just great to give them a big win like that here on home ice." Battista couldn't have been happier with his team's performance, a performance in which everything seemed to go right, setting his team up perfectly for a title run next week. "I can't say enough about the effort," Battista said. "Everything worked today -- penalty kill, power play, the lines, the goaltending, the defense. Everything was just clicking. This is going to give us a lot of confidence going into nationals."

Senior superlatives

No. 1 Icers rout Div. II Findlay on Senior Day