After two weekends of hard-nosed, gut-it-out wins, the No. 4 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers could have used an offensive explosion to take some pressure of their defense.

They got it during this past weekend's East-West Showcase, sweeping the field during a three-game series, starting Friday afternoon and ending yesterday.

The Icers (12-4-2) picked up wins against No. 17 Eastern Michigan, No. 7 Michigan-Dearborn and Western Michigan, by scores of 8-3, 9-0, and 6-2, respectively.

The 9-0 win against Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday was the teams' most complete performance of the season, Icers head coach Joe Battista said.

"The Michigan-Dearborn game was the best game that we've played, collectively, all year," Battista said.

"It was almost a perfect game for us, against a very good team -- they're ranked seventh -- I think we kind of ambushed them."

The 9-0 demolition of the Wolves saw three Icers reach personal milestones. Junior forward Mike McMullen, the team's second leading scorer at the start of the showcase, recorded his first career hat trick and added an assist against Michigan-Dearborn. Forward Brandon Rubeo and Steve Thurston notched their first career goals for the Icers too.

That it was McMullen's first hat trick surprised even Battista, who like many could have expected such a steady scorer to have picked up at least one goal somewhere along the way.

"It felt good getting the hat trick," McMullen said. "I can't remember the last time that happened, it was probably in high school. I've had a few two-goal games so far at Penn State, so it was nice."

Rubeo's single goal may have been even more special, as it came on his 21st birthday. Although he missed time during the first two months of the season with an injury, Rubeo stepped into the center position for the Icers top-scoring line, the red line. The line's usual center, Luke DeLorenzo, suffered a mild concussion during Friday night's 8-3 win against Eastern Michigan after colliding with teammate Justin DePretis at center ice. DeLorenzo was held out of the remaining two games as a precaution, Battista said.

Rubeo stepped up and was able to perform well alongside McMullen and Frank Berry on the top line, and had a part in McMullen's three-goal night.

"He played really solid, it was great for him to get his first goal of the season," McMullen said of his stand-in linemate. "He was hurt earlier in the year, and he's getting back to full strength now, so it was good to see him get the opportunity to get some ice time -- he played really well."

Also making a statement on the scoreboard Saturday was the Icers defense and senior goalie Paul Mammola, who recorded 32 saves for his second consecutive shutout. Junior goaltender, Chris Matteo, started for the Icers on Friday and in yesterday's game, and completed a tough weekend for the duo.

"Mammola and Chris [Matteo] really gutted it out," Battista said. "Chris was so sick [yesterday], he was throwing up between periods, and Paul couldn't play because he had an infection in his foot -- both of them really sucked it up this weekend."

The duo of goalies was also a big part of an Icers penalty kill that did not allow a power play goal in any of the three games. The Icers' opponents went 0-15 in all, which was cemented by Saturday's contest, when the Wolves could not score on eight power play opportunities.

While defense solidified the total effort given by the team this weekend, the showcase was ruled by offense.

Freshman Nate Obringer had a breakout weekend, totaling three goals and four assists in the three games. Along with DePretis and senior Luke Walker, Obringer held down the gold line, which had its own outburst of scoring, much like the spreading of the wealth during the weekend, Battista said.

With the Icers now riding a six-game winning streak, it can be safe to say that their days of coming out flat on Fridays and ending up with a weekend split are over.

"I said it after we beat Ohio at home; we were really starting to come together, and if we could keep playing as a team, we could run the table for the rest of the semester," Battista said. "So far, so good, we've won six in a row, but we've got a tough Delaware team coming in this weekend, and we've got to be ready to get 'em."