Lady Icers forward Andrea Lavelle said one thing about her season debut Saturday.

But the scoring summary tells a whole different story.

Lavelle unarguably started off her season with an impressive performance, scoring seven goals and adding three as-sists to lead the Lady Icers to a 17-3 victory over the University of Pennsylvania in a Mid-Atlantic Women's Collegiate Hockey Association (MAWCHA) game at Greenberg Sports Complex.

Lavelle, however, saw the game as a way to work out the kinks that resulted from a six-month offseason.

"My legs felt a little stiff going in, and I'm still a little rusty," said Lavelle, who attends Penn State on a golf scholarship and had to wait until the fall season ended to hit the ice. "It will take me a few more games to get into it."

Rusty or not, Lavelle can't deny she played a large part in the victory, and she also can't deny the link between her and teammate Ellen Zajko. The two forwards combined to play a role in seven of the Lady Icers' 17 goals.

"I think a lot of it is our experience. We've both been playing for a long time," Lavelle said. "I can sense where she is. She's always in the right spot at the right time, and we can read each other. It's going to be like that all year. We're going to connect."

The Lady Icers started off the game with seven unanswered goals. Lavelle and Lauren Shaw each scored two goals, Kate Specchio chipped in with a goal and two assists and Michelle Zulkowsky and Jenna Lichtenwalner had a goal apiece.

In the second period Lavelle and Zajko began to exercise their connection.

Lavelle fed Zajko a pass in front of the goal, which she then tapped in. Zajko returned the favor, assisting Lavelle on four of her next five goals, and Zajko then redirected another pass from Lavelle for her second goal of the game. They also combined for a double assist on a goal by Faryn Shapiro, who finished with two goals and an assist.

"This is the first time we get to play on the line together, which is awesome," said Zajko, who finished with two goals and six assists.

"We skate well with each other. She's faster, definitely, but we're about the same speed."

Along with Zajko, Lavelle and Shapiro, four other Lady Icers had a hand in the scoring in the remainder of the game. Aside from the explosive performance by the offense, which outshot Penn 68-7, tough defense also contributed to the win. Using an aggressive style of play and quick skating, the Lady Icers were able to keep the pressure on Penn and control the puck for most of the game.

"We moved the defensive lines around this week in practice, and it really came together for us today," head coach Billie Willits said.

After Penn arrived with only a male goalie — which is illegal in the MAWCHA — Penn State found itself shuffling its two goalies between both nets throughout the game. Starter Jessica Gurskey was out with an illness, so back-ups Jeannine Kausch and Mary Bushmire took turns defending the goal both for, and against, their own team.

"It was hard having my own team shooting on me. They're very good, I do have to admit that," Bushmire said. "I was really nervous, but it was really fun. I had a good time."