Mad scientist
Icers' Battista tinkers with lines in hopes of a championship

By CARLA MOTKO
Collegian Staff Writer

Icers forward Alon Eizenman has no trouble envisioning Joe Battista, coach of the No. 2 Penn State men's ice hockey team, in a white lab coat heating test tubes over a Bunsen burner. Especially with the way Battista experiments with his lines during a game.

This type of late-season experimentation is fairly uncharacteristic and most coaches would be hesitant to change something as vital as a team's offensive lines, but not Battista.

"If you know coach you know he's not afraid to change things up even in the last period of the national championship game," Eizenman said. "Coach would be just as comfortable in the lab experimenting with strange vials as he would be working with lines on the ice."

Everyone will be able to see how good of a chemist Battista is when his new lineups are put to the ultimate test in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Championship Tournament this week at Fred Rust Arena in Newark, Del. when No. 2 Penn State (23-3-3) plays its first game at 1 p.m. today against No. 7 Towson.

When the Icers beat Seneca in two games two weeks ago, Battista unveiled his first two concoctions -- a second line of Eizenman, Ed Bursich and Greg Held and a fourth line of Niel Price, Travis Dorsey and Ryan Wick.

The previous second line consisted of Eizenman, Bursich and Dorsey, but when the line's point tallies fell from around six per game to a mere three, Battista moved Dorsey to the fourth line in favor of Held who had just returned from a hand injury.

The end result was an offensive explosion. The trio combined for 15 points on the weekend, which came as a surprise to everyone. But Battista's late-season experimentation is what surprised Held.

"Last year we were a different team and we didn't have to make so many changes," he said. "This year I think he's just looking for the right formula, but I'm still a little surprised that he makes adjustments so freely."

For the fourth line, Battista dabbled in his defensive stash. Wick played the past two seasons and the majority of this season on defense. But Battista saw the possibility of an offensive spark in Wick and gave him the boost to forward.

Although the new fourth line was held off the scoreboard, Battista was pleased with its ability to generate enough offense to keep Seneca out of Penn State's zone.

"We needed some way to spark the offense without jeopardizing the defense," Battista said. "Last year, the fourth line made such a difference at the national tournament. We've put this line together kind of late in the season but I think it can give us that depth advantage that could be the difference in tournament."

With 12 seasons and one ACHA title under his belt, Battista knows the importance of the ability to make last-minute changes in an offense if necessary. The depth of Penn State's bench is something Battista has boasted of all season, but the next four days should tell just how far that bench extends.

"When you play four games in four days I guarantee you won't see the same lines all four days," he said. "It's one of the beauties of this team, that I have the luxury of being able to put guys in and out and move guys around. We'll do what it takes to get things going."

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