New faces were on the ice and a new coach was behind the bench, but the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers still began the year in familiar fashion -- with a win.

With only one senior in the starting lineup, the No. 2 Icers (1-1, 1-0 ACHA) successfully opened their season with a 4-3 win at Washington and Jefferson on Saturday night.

Not only did the victory extend Penn State's winning streak in season openers to 13, but also it ushered in the Scott Balboni era on a positive note.

"Obviously there were some nerves from my end, being a first-time head coach and making all of those tough decisions," Balboni said. "I certainly had some nerves going out there because we wanted to make sure that we left no stone unturned and every avenue covered."

Balboni was faced with some tough decisions even before the puck dropped at the Iceoplex in Southpointe.

Senior goaltender Chris Matteo, the Icers' top returning goaltender, was still rehabbing an injury that he suffered towards the end of last season. Matteo, who split time with since-graduated goaltender Paul Mammola, was 14-3 in 18 starts during his junior year.

That left the door open for sophomore Nick Signet, who only saw 130 minutes of action in 2005-06.

"I thought [Signet] played good overall. He fought the puck a little bit towards the end and I'm not sure if that was because of first-game jitters or if he was struggling," Balboni said. "But he was solid for us."

The offense may have alleviated some of the pressure on Signet by getting Penn State on the scoreboard first.

Less than two minutes into the first period, sophomore forward Luke DeLorenzo -- last season's ACHA Freshman of the Year and the Icers' top returning scorer -- cashed in a power-play goal to give his team the early advantage in the contest.

Penn State senior forward Mike McMullen added two goals in the second and third periods, both giving his team the lead, but the Presidents were able to able to tie the score at 3-3 with five minutes remaining in regulation.

The game seemed destined for overtime, until sophomore forward Jaime Zimmel deked the Washington and Jefferson goaltender and tallied the game-winning goal with 22 seconds left in the third period.

"[Zimmel] really came through for us with a big play," Balboni said. "He beat a guy to the puck, bore in and beat the goaltender to win the game."

Penn State was unable to match Saturday's heroics against NCAA Division I Robert Morris.

The Colonials, who were looking for revenge after suffering a loss to Penn State last season, beat the Icers, 6-0, yesterday afternoon at the Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh.

Although the outcome was a blowout on the scoreboard, Balboni was pleased with his team's performance.

"We played a pretty good game for about 50 percent of the game. I thought we actually played better than we did [Saturday]," Balboni said.

"We just played a team that was very good, very strong and when we made a little mistake, they capitalized."