It is often said in sports that the best players play their best in key games.

The No. 1 ACHA Div. I Icers' leading scorer Glenn Zuck (19 goals, 23 assists) came up with his best offensive game of the season, recording a hat trick and two assists, as visiting Penn State defeated No. 3 Eastern Michigan 7-4 on Saturday. The Icers' victory followed up their 5-1 win at No. 10 Michigan-Dearborn (10-14-4) on Friday.

In a very physical game on Saturday, Zuck put in two first period goals that brought the Icers' lead to 3-0. The forward then notched a backbreaking goal for the Golden Eagles (19-8-2), as he made the score 6-3 with only seven seconds to play in the second period.

"It was probably his best game of the season," Icers' coach Joe Battista said. "It came at a time when we needed it most."

Zuck's five-point performance on Saturday followed up his one goal, one assist effort on Friday, giving him a stellar four goals and three assists on the weekend. Forward Neal Price assisted on Zuck's first and third goals on Saturday and added a goal of his own to make the score 7-3 at the 1:31 mark of the third period. Price, Zuck and forward Kevin Jaeger make up the Icers' Red Line, which has been the Icers' top scoring line since it was formed in their game against St. Louis on Jan. 18.

"They (the Red Line) have really, really come together," Battista said. "That whole line played well."

Jaeger, a Michigan native, playing in front of friends and family on Friday against the Wolves, scored two goals and added one assist. Battista said Jaeger also had a few good hits, played well on the penalty kill and he's showing a lot more confidence than earlier in the season.

"He had a lot of friends and family there," Battista said. "He treated them to a great performance."

When Saturday's game against the Golden Eagles became physical and sometimes dirty, the Icers were up to the challenge. Battista said that Eastern Michigan's Chris Aolman said he would cheap shot Icers' co-captain Scott Curry before the game, and he followed through with his threat during the contest.

Battista said Aolman went out of his way to cross-check Curry in the neck, and he chased Curry from one end of the ice to the other to try to hit the Icers' defenseman in the head.

After Zuck put in his third goal of the game late in the second period, the Golden Eagles' Dane Dresch kicked Zuck's legs out from underneath him, causing the Icers' forward to turn his ankle.

Icers' defenseman Dante Hirsch came over to protect Zuck and both Dresch and Hirsch received minor penalties.

"It was a very emotional game," Battista said. "Our rivalry has gotten to be pretty intense with them (Eastern Michigan)."

Even the Golden Eagles' fans and a parent of one of Eastern Michigan's players tried to get involved in some physical action.

After the second period Golden Eagles fans and a parent of a Golden Eagles player attempted to attack the Penn State players as they were coming off the ice.

Six-foot-three, 220-pound defenseman Brandon Cook protected Battista and assistant coach Mike McNeill from the Eastern Michigan fans before security came over to help.

Icers co-captain Kyle Jordan, who scored two key goals in the game, settled his team down after the second stanza and refocused their attention on trying to win the game on the scoreboard -- which is what they did.