The team knew all season that it was the best kept secret in women's collegiate ice hockey. This past weekend the Lady Icers let the rest of the nation in on the secret.

The No. 12 Penn State Lady Icers (9-6, 3-3 ECWHL) dominated the road this weekend, pulling off wins against No. 10 Maryland on Saturday and American University on Sunday.

Saturday's game against Maryland went 4-1 in favor of the Lady Icers, while Sunday's game at American proved to be a Penn State offensive surge with a score of 14-2.

On Saturday, the tone of the weekend was set only 59 seconds in the game by captain Ashleigh Kinder scoring the first goal. After that, the team didn't look back.

Chelsea Sacks scored one in the first period. In the second period, Allison Lasser scored the only goal. Kinder also added another goal in the third off of a power play.

Head coach Michael Brinton seemed pleased with the team after the first game.

"We went to Maryland and came out of the gate flying. We didn't give them a chance the whole game. We were in their zone 80 percent of the time," he said. "They were ranked No. 1, but our players took it to heart and they felt they were the No. 1 team."

The defense remained equally as strong as the offense throughout the course of the first game. Goalie Melanie Kleinmann stopped 20 out of 21 shots in the win.

Brinton also noted defensive players Caitlyn Sawyer, Stephanie Doyle and Chelsea Sacks for their strength on defense in the first game.

The Lady Icers came to play on Sunday morning and soon everyone in attendance realized that.

Sacks, Lasser and Jessica Waldron all recorded hat tricks in the Penn State win. Esther Gomez and Lauren Johnston had two goals each, while Kinder added a goal of her own as well.

Though the Lady Icers received the win, Brinton was quick to point out that it wasn't the team's best game, but it was all in good fun.

"We didn't play that great, but the team we were playing wasn't really that good. It was a blowout from the get go. We just came out and had a good time," he said.

Kinder thought the lack of play over the past month would affect the team's game this past weekend, but soon realized it did not.

"We knew we had to come out strong after a month break of not playing," she said. "I think the most important thing was that we played 100 percent for three periods."

Because of the win over Maryland, the Lady Icers will take over the top seat in the Southeast Region. It will assure the team a playoff berth and a higher seed in the bracket.

Brinton believes the team knows it is better than a No. 12 national ranking.

"The reason for the success this weekend was the lack of respect in the Maryland game," he said. "We felt we should be ranked higher than they were. The girls really took it to heart and knew they had to beat them."

Next weekend, the team will face its toughest opponent yet, No. 5 University of Rhode Island, in a home series.

Kinder acknowledged her team's challenge, but knows it will remain solid and strong.

"We know we can do this, but it is going to be a challenge," she said. "We are confident that we as a team can go to nationals, but we have to maintain the attitude of playing 100 percent all the time. It is the only way we can actually get this done."