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[ Monday, Jan. 23, 2006 ]

PSU's balance destroys Towson

Collegian Staff Writer

Fresh off claiming a No. 1 ranking, the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers continued to play like Big Tymers and pushed their win streak to 15 games.

While they might not be "skiiiiirtin on 22s," the Icers (21-4-2) proved they were "Still Fly," dropping 21 goals in two games against an overmatched Towson squad (9-19-1). The Icers swept the home-and-home weekend with scores of 11-2 and 10-2 on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

Saturday's victory helped to cap off a day of celebration in honor of the Greenberg Ice Pavilion's 25th year of operation.

After a lackluster first period, ending deadlocked at 1-1, the Icers gave the crowd cause for celebration by lighting the lamp four times in the second period and then running away with the third period, tacking on five more scores.

"The way we played the third period today was the way we played the first and second yesterday, a lot more in control," Icers head coach Joe Battista said after Saturday's game. "Today, the first period was a hiccup. We passed up chances to shoot the puck, trying to make the pretty play."

Battista did credit his players' ability to hang in and get stronger as the game went along on Saturday, eventually finishing off their opponents.

The coach was also pleased with the diverse scoring, which took a lot of pressure off of his top line that has been supplying much of the team's offense lately. Only senior Justin DePretis scored two goals, as nine different Icers got on the score sheet.

"A lot of these kids just buried the puck this weekend, where before, we hadn't done that for a while," senior defenseman Brendan Martin said.

Martin and fellow defenseman Keith Jordan also got in on the scoring, each netting a goal. In the second period, Martin's top-shelf blast from behind a Towson player, whose position screened his own goalie, turned out to be the game winner for the Icers.

"The ice was a little open today," Martin said of the scoring chances he and Jordan saw. "As a unit we just have to play defense and count them as bonuses when we do get to see those kinds of opportunities."

The spread scoring on Saturday was quite a contrast to what Battista called "the Nate Obringer show" on Friday night in Towson.

Obringer, the standout sophomore, has been anchoring the second line since November and has been one of the keys to the team's 15-game winning streak. Scoring four goals in the first half of the game on Friday gave Obringer his first hat trick as an Icer. Then during Saturday's contest, Obringer also added a goal in the third period and continued to act as setup man, assisting on both of DePretis' goals.

The biggest surprise for the Icers on Friday was their ability to get a big lead early, and keep it throughout the entire game. Jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, the Icers never looked back. Junior goalie Chris Matteo made 28 saves and didn't allow a goal until halfway through the third period.

"We kind of put a team away early, we hadn't really done that in any of our games," Martin said. "We've been kind of living and dying by two-goal leads, letting them come back, then getting another two-goal lead things like that.

"This is our first time we actually got up by a couple goals early and kind of put a team down by four or five [goals] with a lot of the game left."

With their toughest stretch of the season coming up -- their next three opponents are ranked in the top 10 -- the Icers must continue putting teams away early to continue on their win streak.

"We had a chance to put Illinois away last week and we didn't -- it's just focus, an issue of bearing down," DePretis said. "When we have a chance, we have to bury them or they're going to grind on us and get a chance to climb their way back in the game."


PHOTO: Jeff Bast
PHOTO: Jeff Bast
Brett Wilson(16) scores one of many third period goals for the Icers this weekend.

 

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Updated: Monday, January 23, 2006  12:50:22 AM  -4
Requested: Thursday, May 15, 2008  11:46:52 PM  -4
Created: Wednesday, May 07, 2008  6:55:31 PM  -4