"It was real emotional," he said. "It was one of the few times this year that we pulled together as a team and played solid all game."
According to Penn State coach Joe Battista, the Icers just took their opponent for granted.
"We got those two big wins against Ohio and we got cocky," he said. "We're not the dominant team we have been. We're not just going to show up and beat teams."
Missed opportunities, good Michigan-Dearborn goaltending and a sub-par defensive effort by the Icers proved to be the difference-makers in the game.
Penn State outshot the Wolves 46-24, but goalie Jason Ryan was unstoppable between the pipes, collecting 44 saves in the game.
"I just stuck to my game and got down to the basics," Ryan said. "I trusted my forwards and my defenders, and I didn't worry about those things I couldn't control."
The Wolves' Matt Chromy was the first to strike in the game as he slid the puck under the legs of Penn State goalie Paul Mammola five minutes into the second period to grab Michigan-Dearborn's first goal.
That, according to Debol, was the first of several turning points that helped decisively shift the momentum to the side of Michigan-Dearborn.
"That goal took the crowd out of it," Debol said. "Today it was like you never really heard them."
Two minutes after the goal, Penn State's Vince Nardy attempted to tie up the game on a breakaway but slipped -- and was unable to get off a shot.
It wouldn't be the last time the Icers couldn't capitalize, though.
Brett Wilson had a slapshot ricochet off of the left post just three minutes after Nardy's tumble. The Wolves then took possession of the puck and skated up the ice to record the second goal of the game.
"We had a very poor effort defensively," Battista said. "We gave up too many odd-man rushes and they scored three backdoor goals."
Battista said those backdoor goals were the result of "somebody making a mistake further up the ice."
Co-captain Kevin Jaeger, who brought the score to 3-2 late in the third period, believed he was partially responsible for the struggling defense.
"I personally take blame for three of those goals," he said. "I know that I could have gotten back if I was playing a better defensive game."
Although Jaeger pulled the Icers to within a single goal, Musser tallied his second score of the game just 90 seconds after Jaeger's effort -- effectively putting the game out of reach for the Icers.
While the Icers believed they just took Michigan-Dearborn for granted, the Wolves' coach appeared to think his defensive schemes made the difference.
"Sometimes we forechecked hard and sometimes we trapped them in the neutral zone," Debol said. "And we confused them for awhile."
Battista disagreed.
"We had 46 shots on goal, how could we be confused?" he said. "I'm sorry, we had more shots on goal than we did yesterday.
"Their goalie played well."
Penn State pulled Mammola after he surrendered his fourth goal, but Battista was adamant that it wasn't because he was playing badly.
After all, when the score was 3-1, Mammola beat a two-on-none breakaway to keep the Icers in the game.
"I said 'Listen, it's like in baseball. We need a relief pitcher, so we just need a spark right now,' "he said. "They were backdoor goals, what's he going to do?"
The Icers were also without several key players over the weekend.
Greg Schwind, Eric Harbaugh, Chris Rome and Dan McKeen sat out both games with injuries, and Mike Carrano and Garrett Divins each missed one game apiece.
Ultimately, however, it appeared as though Penn State just came out expecting a win.
"It's definitely an eye-opener," Jaeger said. "Spanking a team then losing the next day -- I think we'll definitely learn that if we take any game for granted, this is what can happen."
