Struggling Ice Lions on mission against West Virginia, Rutgers

By MICHAEL YODER
Collegian Staff Writer

The Penn State Ice Lions are on a mission to make a serious statement to Div. II hockey teams across the nation -- don't take us for granted.

After an extremely disappointing weekend that resulted in two losses for Penn State, the Ice Lions (7-5-2) will try to bounce back when they take on West Virginia tonight and Rutgers Sunday.

The first weekend back from semester break proved to be a struggle for the Ice Lions and may have seriously weakened their chances of going back to nationals. Last Friday, the Ice Lions faced an overmatched Hofstra team, but lost a disappointing 7-6 game. Saturday, Penn State went up against Central Connecticut State and fell, 3-2.

"It was a case of where our evil team showed up," Penn State Coach Mo Stroemel said. "You have to have a desire to win, and this team had no desire to win over the weekend."

At 9:30 p.m. today, Penn State looks to start the rebound in Morgantown, W.V., against a Mountaineer team it manhandled earlier this season on home ice. The Ice Lions used a dominating shutout performance by goaltender Kevin Kuzmick to beat West Virginia 3-0 the first time, and they are looking for the same type of emotional spark to get back on the winning track.

"We need a real decisive win to kick-start us," captain Dan Horowitz said. "Right now we're on the bubble to get back to nationals, but a win against West Virginia will put us back into contention."

If anyone can give the Ice Lions the spark they need to regain a winning spirit, Horowitz has the ability. The senior forward leads the team in goals with 16 and total points with 24.

Sunday, Penn State will need an even bigger lift against Rutgers, which beat the Ice Lions 3-2 earlier this season. Rutgers made the transition to Div. I play this season, and even though it has had a rough time of it, it poses a serious threat in the Ice Lions' schedule.

"Rutgers is a real important game for us," Stroemel said. "It's critical in terms of knowing we can come back and beat a team we lost to earlier in the season."

One sore spot in recent games for Penn State has been the play of its defense. At various times in the semester the defense has been stellar. Defensemen Brad Webb, Jason Ice and Brad Aber all have plus/minus ratings over 10 and Kim Cautreels has come up with some big hits in various games. However, the defense is playing shorthanded with several players out due to various reasons.

For success the rest of the season, the Ice Lions need to turn up their intensity on defense. In both games last weekend, Penn State experienced a lack of defensive skills which led to the two losses. This week in practice the Ice Lions focused on fundamental hockey and defense.

"We lost sight of defense last weekend," Stroemel said. "This weekend we're making defense our No. 1 priority. We've recommitted ourselves to winning."

If Penn State hopes to make nationals again this year, two wins are crucial this weekend. Two wins against quality opponents may not only prove they can be competitive, it may also prove they deserve another shot at winning the national championship.

"We need to send a message to the rest of the teams," Stroemel said. "We're back."