"Defense wins games."

Jay Smith, a forward for the Penn State Ice Lions, said this after beating New York University and William Patterson.

Maybe what coach Mo Stroemel said all season finally sunk in.

A big cliché in the sports world is saying something is a "must win game," but for the Ice Lions it really was Friday night.

New York University (13-2) is ranked No. 1 in the ACHA Northeast rankings and its only two losses this season came at the hands of the Ice Lions (21-5). NYU scored early in the first period on a power play, but the Ice Lions scored four consecutive goals and beat the Violets 4-2.

"Friday night we were ecstatic. We could be one or two going into nationals. We locked a spot [to Nationals] as far as I am concerned," said Jason Rusnic.

Penn State's penalty kill stole the show against NYU, minus the first goal they gave up. They had to kill several 5-on-3 power plays, including some in the final period while holding on to a 4-1 lead.

Stroemel was leery last week of having a letdown on Saturday after playing NYU. The Ice Lions did come out flat and played to a sloppy 6-2 victory against William Patterson. A host of normal starters for the Ice Lions didn't play against the Pioneers.

The Ice Lions picked up the tempo and finished the game strong.