The main thing, Lady Icers coach Chris Whittemore said, is dictating the game's tempo, a big part of which comes with playing disciplined defense.
"Part of that [effort on] defense is making sure we pin them down in their zone," Whittemore said. "We're going to have to attack them. ... We can't sit back and let them come to us; we have to take it to them."
Penn State takes on Massachusetts in the first round tomorrow afternoon. The Lady Icers will not face UMass goalie Becky Trudel, who came up with big stops in 3-0 and 2-1 wins against Penn State in Amherst, Mass., last month. Trudel is studying abroad this semester.
"The second game we played, we outplayed them, but their goaltender stood on her head," said Whittemore, who at the time equated Trudel's effort with that of NHL goalie Dominik Hasek. "It doesn't mean we'll beat them [this time]."
If Penn State gets to the championship game, it would likely face top-seeded Rhode Island, a team that held Penn State to three goals in four meetings.
Lady Icers junior forward Katie King said practices have focused on limiting scoring opportunities for the opposition.
"We've been working a lot on defensive zone coverage in practices last two weeks," she said. "Hopefully we can limit their scoring opportunities and capitalize on the ones we get."
Whittemore feels his club can have a chance to turn the tables on URI if the teams meet again. In the teams' last meeting on Jan. 30, the Lady Rams held on for a 2-1 win.
"They're such a good club," he said. "We were close last time. A couple bounces here and there and it's a different story."
