Led by sophomore forward Alon Eizenman and senior captain forward C.J. Patrick, the No. 3 Icers (20-3-2) are turning heads by smoking goaltenders.

Patrick, who leads Penn State with 21 goals, has more scores this year than his three previous seasons combined (15). Eizenman leads the team with 52 points and is right behind Patrick with 20 goals.

"C.J. is having a banner year," coach Joe Battista said. "He's found his place in front of the net and he makes a lot of good plays."

Penn State boasts one of the top goals-per-game averages in Div. I ACHA. At a little over six goals per game, few teams manage to outscore the Icers.

"We're very offensive-minded," senior alternate captain forward Ed Bursich said. "We want to get the puck into the net as much as possible. We get the puck out of our zone and then just work on it."

When the Icers do score, they do it in bunches. Large portions of Penn State's 152 goals have come from lopsided victories, as the Icers have broken the 10-goal mark three times this season. In a match against Duquesne on Nov. 6, Penn State found the back of the twine 20 times. About a month later, Penn State demolished Kent State, 15-0.

In comparison to other top-notch hockey programs, few teams enjoy the offensive success Penn State does. No. 2 Michigan-Dearborn, which defeated Penn State 4-2 Jan. 29, averages six goals per game as well. However, No. 1 Iowa State leads the pack. The offensive-minded Cyclones, who defeated Penn State 5-3 Jan. 23, average a whopping 8.6 goals per game -- a full two goals more than the Icers.

But this year's Icers do not touch the all-time Penn State record for goals per game. The 1992-93 team, led by Ross Cowan, averaged an amazing 9.2 goals per game.

"That team played a wide-open, totally offensive-minded style of play," Battista said. "That was probably the best offensive team we ever had."

Battista, who coached that team to a 33-1 record, lost his only game of the year 2-1 in the ACHA Championship to North Dakota State.

"Even a good offense can be stopped by a hot goalie or hitting the post," he said. "A lot of things can happen. Teams that generally win are defensive teams. So this year, we're going to have to win with a different formula. We're going to have to score timely goals and play defense."

With the start of the playoffs less than a month away, Battista said he will try to make his team ready for the time of year when goals are harder to come by.

"Everyone else is bearing down on defense," Bursich said. "So we're going to have to work harder."