When the Lady Icers look back on this season, they won't remember the tough losses or missed opportunities. Instead, they will hope to build for a stronger run in the future by focusing on the positives.

Until that time, however, they will have to be content without a playoff appearance for the second consecutive season.

The Penn State Lady Icers' season officially came to an end Thursday, when the ACHA released its fourth and final regular-season rankings. Although their last game was a loss to the University of Buffalo on Feb. 5, the No. 15 Lady Icers (10-11, 4-8 ECWHL) still clung to the slim chance of a postseason berth.

Unfortunately, slim left town when Maryland received the Southeast Region's No. 1 ranking and its automatic Nationals tournament seed. Despite a perfect 2-0 record against Southeast Region opponents, including a 4-1 victory over the Terrapins, and more first-place votes than Maryland, Penn State was left out of the national championship picture.

Captain Ashleigh Kinder was disappointed with the voters' reasoning, especially after suffering the same fate last season.

"It is a political thing," she said. "For some reason, [the voters] don't like us. To them it's not based on skill or ability -- it's based on record, even though we had a tougher schedule than Maryland."

Although some are screaming foul, the fact remains that the Lady Icers didn't help themselves by finishing 1-5 in their final six games. During that stretch, short-benched from numerous injuries, Penn State was outscored 51-11.

Still, the squad won't let its recent shortcomings tarnish a good season.

In October, the Lady Icers were surrounded by question marks. Would they recover from losing their top six scorers from last season? Would the underclassmen deliver? Would the players bond and play like a team?

"It was a tough situation. We had an entirely new team, new coaches and a new system. We had everything going against us this year," assistant captain Dana Voelker said.

It didn't take long for Penn State to answer those questions with a resounding "yes." Bonding like no other team under head coach Michael Brinton and a mixture of veteran leadership and underclassmen production paved the way for the Lady Icers' success.

"I got exactly what I expected from this team this year. There was never a point where I thought we were playing below our talent level. We were always at or above what I expected," Brinton said.

With senior Lauren Johnston the only player not returning next season, Penn State will be expected to improve over the offseason and return to the playoffs.

"We can't sit back and just wait for next season," Kinder said. "It is important to keep our minds set on getting better and becoming a solid team."