"We just bought our way to nationals right there."

This statement, uttered by grinning Penn State Lady Icers coach Jeremy Sharpe, came after a second consecutive weekend of dominating play over the University at Buffalo Freeze, as Penn State won 6-1 Friday night and 4-2 Saturday afternoon at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

With the wins, the Lady Icers are assured of retaining the top spot in Thursday's release of the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) rankings as well as momentum coming into the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) playoffs, which begin Feb. 15.

Sophomore forward Katie King was the star of the weekend, scoring five goals Friday and netting two more on Saturday along with an assist. Defender Steph Feyock and forward Kate Specchio also stepped up for the Lady Icers, with a goal and three assists and two goals, respectively.

Specchio's contributions were especially timely and welcome for the Lady Icers. After starting forward Alex McVicker was scratched from Saturday's game with a possible concussion, Specchio started in McVicker's spot for her first significant action since returning from a broken leg suffered in November. Her third-period goal iced the victory for the team, and provided a large sigh of relief.

"We were a little bit nervous coming into the third period," Specchio admitted. "That extra goal really gave us the confidence we needed."

McVicker was not the only Lady Icer to fall to injury. Forward Lauren Shaw, who as a senior is in many ways a leader on the young team, was checked in the back of her neck early on the third period Friday. She lay facedown and motionless for several tense moments before slowly getting up and being helped off the ice by trainers and teammates. She missed the rest of the game, though she returned and played well on Saturday.

"I think Lauren's injury did fire us up," said King, who soon after Shaw's injury went on a four-goal scoring binge. "She's one of our best players."

The injuries were evidence of the physical battles the two rivals fought, along with minor scrums and shoves after many a whistle. During the game action, there were a number of hard checks and hits dished out by both teams, adding some aggression to a usually more laid-back Penn State team. Though the extra-curricular activities resulted in a large number of Icer penalties, Sharpe said he is satisfied with how the team handled itself.

"It was everything we expected," he said. "I'm really proud of how everyone kept their composure and kept their cool out there. We played very physical without getting ourselves involved in anything that was worthless or would hurt our team."

Partially because of the physicality of the last two weekend sets, the Lady Icers are bowing out of the Erie Tournament scheduled for next weekend, instead opting to heal for the DVCHC playoffs in two weeks in Philadelphia.