Listen very closely at any Penn State Lady Icers game before warm-ups, and one may just barely hear some Celine Dion, Whitney Houston or Michael Bolton wafting out of the tunnel and into the stands.

Pin the blame on senior forward Lauren Shaw.

"Cheesy love songs get me pumped up for some reason," Shaw said, laughing. "Anything with emotion before a game is great." Shaw doesn't keep her emotion contained to just the locker room. On the ice, she can be seen laughing and goofing around during warm-ups, including dancing with freshman goalie Tara Wheeler.

That's not to say Shaw doesn't take her game seriously.

Shaw, with 33 goals and 16 assists, currently ranks third on the Lady Icers with 49 points. Even more so, as assistant captain and team president for the last two seasons, she provides veteran leadership on a team predominantly comprised of freshmen and sophomores.

"She's a trip," Lady Icers coach Jeremy Sharpe said. "She's funny, always energetic, and she always keeps us together as a team."

An admitted Army brat, Shaw was born in Camden, N.J., and has since lived in Nuremberg, Germany, and Harleysville. She came to Penn State in the fall of 1999 and said she's not sure how she ended up on the team.

"Freshman year when I came here, there weren't really cuts and I came in not knowing what to expect," said Shaw of her tryout for the team, adding that she missed a free Cher concert in the process. She said she plans on attending Cher's June concert at the Bryce Jordan Center to make up for that.

In the time since, not only has she evolved into a team leader and dominant player, but she has also picked up some superstitions along the way.

"I put on my gear the exact same way and I never wash any of my equipment," she said. "I put on things ... right to left, in the exact same order, and I don't put my jersey on until the last minute before ice time."

One vivid memory of Shaw's is of forward Alex McVicker, one of Shaw's closer friends and apartment mates, during one of last year's games against the University at Buffalo when a brawl broke out.

"She dropped her gloves and went in, trying to pull players out," McVicker said, trying to contain laughter. "She ended up getting into the fight, dragging a Buffalo player across the ice, and getting a game suspension."

Because this weekend's American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Women's National Tournament will be her last games as a Lady Icer, Shaw was honored along with forward Kate Specchio, defender Jenna Lichenwalner and assistant coach Derek Arledge before last Saturday's game at Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

"She's the fire under us that makes us do our absolute best," said sophomore defender Kirsten Reed about Shaw at the ceremony for graduating seniors. "Without her, the team wouldn't be the same."

While it's tempting to reminisce about her time as a Lady Icer, Shaw said currently she's just focusing on the ACHA's.

"Not much reflection right now, but there'll be reflection after nationals," Shaw said. "Right now I'm acting like I'm going to play forever."