Ice Lions defend WPCHA title


Tuesday, March 3, 1998	Ice Lions defend WPCHA title By STEPHEN ROTHROCK Collegian Sports Writer This year's Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Hockey Association (WPCHA) Championship turned into a carbon copy of last year's. Not only did the Penn State Div. II Ice Lion hockey team defend its title, but Ice Lion captain Dan Horowitz was named Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.
`Penn State Div. II Hockey Home Page`	"It's great to get individual awards," he said, "but there were at least eight different guys who could have won the MVP." Any concerns about the team overlooking the WPCHAs for nationals were quickly squelched. On Friday the squad took a 4-1 first-period lead on Penn State West and never looked back on its way to a convincing 10-2 victory.
Ice Lion Ryan Touchton fights for control of the puck from a Rutgers opponent on Feb. 21 during a matchup at the ice pavilion. The team won the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Hockey Association (WPCHA) Championship this weekend. Next up for the Ice Lions is the national tournament Mar. 4-7 in Bridgewater, N.J. (Collegian Photo/Wendy L. Zeller - click for full size image)	The Ice Lion squared off against West Virginia in the championship game Saturday night. The hostilities and rough play that were expected never materialized as it methodically wore West Virginia down. The score was close for two periods until Penn State scored three unanswered goals giving the Ice Lion an-easier-than-expected 8-4 win. Ice Lion Ryan Touchton said the close score after two periods was a little deceiving. "We outplayed them in every aspect," he said. "Even when they scored we were in control of the game." Coach Mo Stroemel was extremely pleased with the team's performance, especially on defense in the third period against West Virginia. "We dominated them with our floor checking, keeping them bottled up," he said. Our third line wore them down. I was especially proud of the efforts of Mike Zugay, Greg Mudzinski and Paul Rottner." Next for the Ice Lion is the national tournament in Bridgewater, N.J., March 4-7. Penn State has been placed in a group with Siena, Utah State and Central Michigan. Siena is the No. 1 seed from the Northeast region. Siena handed Penn State a 6-3 loss earlier in the year. Utah State (19-2-2) goes in as a two seed with an impressive record from the Western region. Central Michigan (11-5-1) is the third seed out of the Central region and Penn State is seeded fourth out of the Southeast region. Stroemel is not concerned with his team's low seed. "The third period against West Virginia might be the best we've played all year," he said. "It's nice to take that kind of play into the tournament." The Ice Lion will play its first game at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow against three-seed Central Michigan. On Thursday it will take on second-seed Utah State at noon. The rematch with Siena will be at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. One team from this group will advance to the semifinals, and the Ice Lion is confident it will be them. "We are coming off our finest performance of the year," assistant captain Brad Webb said. "We are excited, healthy and heading into the tournament at the right time."