The ACHA D1 Icers played No. 10 Michigan Dearborn twice this weekend, only they showed up a little late.

In both games the Icers struggled early, but later proved why they are ranked No. 1.

After being taken out of their game in the beginning stages, head coach Joe Battista just tried to keep it simple in the locker room.

"Poise and patience," Battista told his team after the first period. "We are being too quick, and we have to make better passes."

The Icers came out looking unbeatable in the second period. Forward Robert Pate leveled a Wolf player into the boards in the first 10 seconds and the Icers just kept the adrenaline flowing after that.

"It was a really fun game," Pate said. "All of our guys were hitting."

Not only did the Icers hit in the second period, but they also did just about everything else right, despite only scoring two goals. The Icers played one of their best all around periods of the season. In fact, Battista rated it as second best to the opening period against Kent State.

"We wanted to keep wearing them down," center/left wing Dustin Martin said.

It was a sentiment echoed by all of his teammates, who knew this would be the only way to finally get to Dearborn.

"They are a feisty team," center/right wing Neal Price said. "We got by that and just kept banging."

The Icers played such a physical and aggressive period that Dearborn was lucky to go into the locker room trailing just 3-2. However, they might have been better off staying there, because the Icers were fresh and ready to go at the start of the third. Dearborn was sluggish and could no longer keep up with the Icers' depth.

The Icers came out flying in the third period with two goals in the opening two and a half minutes, giving them a lead that goalie Geoff Beauparlant would not relinquish.

The first goal Beauparlant allowed in the first period was his first in 83 minutes of ice time. His new streak now stands at 27.

"I can't say enough for my teammates," Beauparlant said. "We have to be prepared tomorrow."

If only Beauparlant's message got through to the rest of the team.

The first period of Saturday's game was lackadaisical and ugly for the Icers, making it appear as though they woke up on the wrong side of the ice.

"We looked sloppy at times," Battista said.

Those "times" appeared to be the majority of the opening period. Despite scoring two early goals the Icers were turning the puck over, not making crisp passes, and allowing Dearborn to dictate the flow. Most alarming was that they were outshot 11-6, a situation the Icers rarely face. The Icers were fortunate to take a lead into the locker room.

Battista rallied the team during the intermission. Just as they did the previous night, the Icers would came out flying in the second period and Dearborn appeared to be shell-shocked.

With the Icers up 3-0, a Dearborn shot got by goalie Scott Graham only to trickle along the line and be ruled no goal by the referee. The Icers would take this momentum and run with it, scoring two goals in the following three minutes. From there the game got out of hand.

The Icers had the fresh legs and a goalie to withstand every Dearborn shot. A 9-1 final capped a physically tough weekend of hockey. Even with slow starts, the Icers wore out a Wolves team, which could not skate with them after the first half of the game.