But Battista knew to look to his bench.

In front of 4,800 hostile fans, Battista and his No. 1 Icers had to overcome some of the worst adversity they've dealt with so far this season to come out of a three-game road trip with three wins. But the wins, a 5-1 victory last Thursday at No. 14 Arizona State, a 6-2 ousting of No. 5 Arizona last Friday at Arizona and 3-2 victory at Arizona last Saturday, didn't have much to do with luck - they were all about depth.

"The depth of this team is spectacular," Battista said. "If you look at most of our goals, they were scored by our fourth line because our top scorers were out.

"And nobody stepped up their game more than (backup goalie) Anthony Annexy."

With the many illnesses, penalties and other hardships the team was suffering Saturday, Annexy had to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders. When the Ice Cats scored the only goal of the first period to make it 1-0, the weight got heavier.

But the 5-foot-4 goalie kept a cool head and stood like a giant in net. By stopping 30 of 32 shots, he enabled his team to regain composure.

In the second period, forward Todd Dakan capitalized on a smart defensive play by freshman forward Joe McArdle and scored a huge goal to tie the game at one.

And so the scoring began.

The Icers went on a drive, scoring two more goals within minutes of each other. Freshmen forwards Travis Dorsey and Kyle Jordan made the score 3-1. The Ice Cats scored once more to make the final score 3-2.

Again, it was the younger players who carried the team against the Ice Cats Friday. Forwards Rich Podulka, Greg Held, Eizenman and C.J. Patrick, along with defensemen Coyne and Jason Zivkovic scored.

"We overcame a lot of adversity to play two great games against the No. 5 team," Battista said. "Those wins really gave us confidence."

The win Thursday against Arizona State gave the team confidence after a long, three-week lay off. Eizenman had two goals during the game while McArdle, forward Jamie Weston and Coyne scored the remaining goals.

The three rough games of the past week are something Battista said he knows he'll see more of. But with the road wins, he feels confident his team is ready for the future challenges.

"We've leaped the first hurdle and there's no time to rest. We have to keep moving forward," Battista said. "We know that there won't be an easy game now until the end."