Icers melt Arizona; EMU next

Before heading to nationals, the Icer coaches and players were somewhat concerned with trying to contain an explosive Arizona Icecat offense. They had good reason to be worried, because the Icecats were able to score eight or more goals in nine games this season.

But when the two teams took the ice for the first game of the ACHA National Tournament yesterday afternoon, it was Penn State who displayed the potent offensive attack as the No. 1 team in the tournament destroyed No. 8 Arizona 10-3 at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.

Ed Bursich led the way for the Icers by picking up a hat trick -- in the first period. Bursich's first goal came after Icer forward Mike Pietrangelo opened up the scoring eight minutes into the game and teammate Don Coyne followed it up with another goal 22 seconds later. Bursich followed that up with his first of four goals on the day, a power-play tally. His goal was the third Icer tally in a span of just one minute and six seconds.

- Joe Battista, Icer coach

Rich Podulka added another goal 30 seconds later and Bursich finished off the scoring in the first with a circus-type goal, diving on his stomach to catch a pass from Alon Eizenman, scooping the puck onto his stick and somehow firing the puck past Tesi for the hat trick.

"I have no idea how he scored it," Icer assistant coach Scott Balboni said in an interview on WKPS radio. "He came back to the bench and said he had no idea, either."

Later, Bursich picked up his fourth of the game with a power-play goal 3:18 into the third period.

"Bursich was just on fire," Battista said. "Two of his goals were just pure effort."

The Icers are expecting a more physical game when they take on No. 5 Eastern Michigan at 2 p.m. today (WKPS). While Arizona was more "run-and-gun," Eastern Michigan will be more "in-your-face." Battista is concerned with the amount of trash talking that could go on in the game, and he hopes his team will be able to stay out of the penalty box and keep its cool.

"It's going to be a tough game," Battista said. "We're going to have to play better defensive hockey."

Balboni said his team is looking for a bit of revenge after Eastern Michigan defeated the Icers 7-3 on January 31 in Michigan.

"It was a big loss up there," Battista said. "(Today's game) is going to depend on which Eastern Michigan team shows up and which Penn State team shows up."

Notes:

Coyne scored the only goal of the second, while Bursich, Jeff Adams and Pietrangelo scored the Icers' goals in the third . . . Pietrangelo had five points (two goals) on the day . . . Anthony Annexy relieved Sixt between the pipes in the third, giving up two goals to Arizona's Tom Thompson.