In a weekend that meant everything, the Div II. Penn State Ice Lions brought everything.

The team beat all comers, even the traffic.

The Lions soundly defeated Montclair State University, 6-0, and followed that performance with a 3-1 victory in an adversity-filled game against a highly ranked Stony Brook University team.

The pair of wins almost assures a place for the Ice Lions in Anaheim, Calif., for nationals.

"I think we just impressed everyone," Ice Lions head coach Mo Stroemel said.

On Friday, Ice Lions goaltender Brian Gratz picked up his sixth shutout of the year against Montclair, while forward Tim Cavanah scored two goals in the victory.

"They just couldn't stop us," Gratz said.

"Their goalie tried everything he could, they just couldn't stop us. The team just played awesome."

Forward Bill Golden picked up an assist on the first Cavanah goal.

"We played real well, and played good together," Golden said.

"I think we have the ability to do real well [in the nationals]."

On Saturday, the Ice Lions played Stony Brook in a highly anticipated game to help decide a victor from an earlier meeting when these two teams tied 3-3.

However, adversity struck the Ice Lions long before the puck was dropped.

The visiting Lions were stuck in traffic, causing them to arrive at the rink only a few minutes before the opening face-off.

The first period displayed their lack of warm-up time, as Stony Brook controlled the tempo of the game and whipped in many scoring chances against Penn State.

However, they could not solve Gratz, who stopped 58 of 59 shots this weekend.

"Brian just played unbelievably," Stroemel said.

"I think he is the best goalie in Div. II hockey."

The game remained scoreless through the first two periods until about nine minutes left to play in the game, when Pat McCullough scored the go-ahead goal.

The lead only lasted about six minutes, however, when a defensive miscue led to a three-on-zero breakaway for Stony Brook in which Bill Sullivan knotted the game at one.

With less than three minutes left, the game looked destined for overtime, however, both teams still knew that the next goal would most likely decide the winner.

That goal came with 1:43 left in the game from Ice Lions Jordan Katz. Eric Heide made the game 3-1 with an empty-net goal with under a minute remaining.

This win should help the Ice Lions leapfrog Stony Brook and take over the No. 2 ranking in the Northeast.

"Talk about triumph over adversity," Gratz said.

The team will now travel to the home of a talented University of Maryland team for a double-header this coming weekend in hopes of repeating the success it enjoyed this weekend.