AMES, Iowa -- Penn State Icers coach Joe Battista signaled for a timeout.

With his team suddenly down two goals with 11:22 left in the third period after blowing a two-goal lead in the ACHA national championship game, Battista stood on the bench above the huddled players, urging them to remember that a lot of things can happen in 10 minutes.

Nearly seven minutes later, the Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers tied the game at four when forward Glenn Zuck dragged the puck between his legs and back onto his stick, and sent a cross-ice pass to linemate Kevin Jaeger for a one-time goal.

The crowd erupted. The bench was a mob scene. Part owner of three straight national championships, senior co-captain Curtiss Patrick said he sensed it was time to win a fourth.

"I knew we were going to do it. I knew for sure," Patrick said.

However, with 2:56 left, Ohio forward Tony Arkeilpane threw the puck toward the net, and the puck ricocheted off Penn State forward Justin DePretis' stick and past Penn State goalie Scott Blackman for the game-winning goal and a 5-4 win.

And just like that, Ohio (32-7-2), the only team to beat the Icers (35-3-0) this season, did the one thing no other team has been able to do at nationals over the last four years -- slay Goliath.

"I'm disappointed. We had a nice little rally there at the end, and we showed a lot of heart, but you got to give a lot of credit to Ohio," said Zuck, who along with Jaeger and defenseman Joe Maglaque, was named to the all-tournament team. "They were prepared for us. They had a great season, we had a great season, and it's a shame someone has to lose."

Rolling over both Towson and Iowa State 10-1 in pool play and Minot State 9-1 to make it to the title game, the Icers seemed well on their way to another convincing win as they took a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the end of the first period, thanks to goals by DePretis and Jaeger.

As senior Brendan Roache admitted later, this game had all the makings of another typical Icers win -- meticulous, suffocating and dominating.

"I thought that was all she wrote," Roache said.

But Ohio put a hold on the presses, taking the play to the Icers, who looked to be playing not to lose instead of playing to win. After Bill Downey cleared a scoring chance off the goalline earlier in the second period, tournament MVP Frank Kubas skated through two defenders on the power play to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:50.

The goal seemed to wake up the Bobcats, who came out and scored three goals in just over three minutes to open the third period, capped by forward Daniel Richardson's goal at 8:38. For the first time this season, the Icers had come unraveled.

Timeout Penn State.

"We got running around a little too much in the defensive zone, and they got up 4-2 [before] we came battling back," Roache said.

It was Roache who started the comeback for the Icers with a great individual effort, as he threw the puck on net then corralled the rebound as he was falling down and slid the puck by Ohio goalie Brian Gallagher to make it 4-3 with just 8:05 left.

The comeback was complete on Jaeger's second goal of the day at 15:31, but after Arkeilpane's goal, the Icers were unable to mount another quality scoring chance, thanks in most part to a questionable tripping call on sophomore Brendan Martin with just over two minutes left.

The puck dropped one final time in the Ohio zone with three seconds left, but it was a mere formality. The Icers national title run was finally over.

"Most disappointed I've ever been in my life, because we had it," Patrick said. "We were up 2-0, and then we played like we were scared to lose instead of playing to win."

After the game, Battista paused, reflecting on the fact that the Icers had come so close.

"It's just a reminder how hard it is to seal the deal," Battista said.