The Div. II Penn State Ice Lions traveled into the Laurel Gardens this weekend and grabbed two games from the hosting University of Maryland squad, 4-1 and 6-2. The pair of wins bring the Northeast division's No. 2 Ice Lions to a 20-2-2 mark with only a few games remaining.

"Things are looking pretty good for us," Ice Lions coach Mo Stroemel said.

In the first game, it seemed as if an upset was in the making as Maryland led 1-0 after the first period, however, the second and third periods quickly dispelled that notion. The Ice Lions' offense began clicking after a few key plays which led to forward Chris Stoehr's two goals that helped lead the Ice Lions to defeat the Terrapins, 4-1.

In game two of the two-day series, the Ice Lions suffered another scare as the Terrapins scored just 36 seconds after the opening face-off. Although the shot was deflected off of a Penn State defenseman and into the net, it did not make the goal any less crushing.

The Terrapins controlled the action for about the next five minutes, until Penn State scored at 4:56 into the first period. John Feltz was able to send a slapshot into the back of the net to knot the game at one. Fourteen seconds later, Jay Smith scored on a breakaway goal to give the Ice Lions the lead, which the team never relinquished. The quick goals squashed Maryland's momentum and set the pace for the rest of the game.

The Lions then added a flurry of goals that put the game further out of reach. When the final buzzer sounded, the Ice Lions had put away six goals to the Terrapins' two. Penn State goalie Brian Gratz, the Div. II leader in goals against average, made 12 saves in the games and 41 saves on the weekend, while allowing three goals.

"I didn't play well, but the team played so unbelievable that I didn't have to," Gratz said. The Ice Lions' Ryan Tocicki led the team with five points this weekend. Tocicki scored on a breakaway in game two and set-up four of Penn State's goals throughout the weekend.

"The forwards that I am playing with are doing their job," Tocicki said. "I was just happy to beat the goalie [on the breakaway], since he was playing real well all weekend." The Ice Lions' next game comes up this weekend when the Central Division's No.3 Central Michigan University visits Penn State.

This is the first meeting this year for these cross-divisional rivals.