The Lady Icers crushed Rutgers University with an impressive 15-0 shutout at the Greenberg Sports Complex Saturday.

This is the second shutout boasted against Rutgers this season by the Lady Icers, who have been on a roll. The Rutgers game marks Penn State's second shutout game in a row, the previous coming against Chatham.

In its last meeting, back in October, Penn State scored three goals against Rutgers to secure the win. Before Saturday's game, Lady Icers coach Billie Willits said that she wanted to have more offense this time in the rematch.

"We expect to be more focused," she said. "We plan on having our offense compete as strong as possible as we get ready for nationals."

The offense did just that as they scored goal after goal to bring the final tally to 15. Lady Icer defenseman Jen McDevitt credited the surge in offense to simply the fact that the team has come together and gelled as of late.

"I think that the first time we played Rutgers, we really didn't come out to our full potential," McDevitt said. "We definitely stepped up as a team. I noticed in the last couple of weeks that we really stepped up."

In goal for the Lady Icers was Jessica Gurskey, who was credited with the shutout. She didn't get to see much action in the game, though, as the puck stayed at the other end of the ice for most of the game.

She performed an outstanding job, however, when shots came her way.

"She did a stand up job," McDevitt said. "It's tough when you don't get too many shots on you. She did a wonderful job."

But it was Penn State's offense that was the highlight of the night. It completely dominated the game.

Rutgers' former goalie, who played in the previous match against Penn State, recently quit the team. Her remarkable talent in the net was a missing factor in Saturday's game, allowing the Lady Icers to score 12 more goals against the new goalie than they had in the game in October.

Goalie talent aside, Penn State can acknowledge the fact that its improvement over the season lies mostly in the fact that it is finally coming together as a team.

"One of our biggest improvements is that every game is different," team president and defenseman Sarah Carey said. "We change around the lines a lot. We're really versatile. Everyone works well together."

After graduating six seniors last season and adding many new faces on the team this season, it could only be expected that it would take a while for the Lady Icers to gel.

"I think that's what sort of held us back in the beginning," McDevitt said. "We were feeling each other out, getting used to each other."

It's apparent that the Lady Icers worked out all the kinks, though, as they continue to improve in each game they play.

"We've been talking a lot more on the ice," Carey said. "We've been having a lot more fun. This is the most dedicated team I've been on. Everyone has something to add. Our team has the most depth it's ever had and that comes from new faces."

The strong surge of offense coupled with the consistent play of Penn State's defense should carry the Lady Icers through the rest of the season on their way to nationals.

"I think the whole team is really ready to go to nationals. We run twice a week, we lift twice a week, we practice twice a week," Carey said. "Physically we are going to be ready, we just have to make sure we are mentally ready. As a team we are definitely ready and very excited."