Penn State Icers' head coach Scott Balboni has a goal for his team this year: Take 50 shots a game and let up only 20. Now three games into the season, the Icers (3-1, 3-0 ACHA) are off to a winning start because of it.

"We preach quite a bit to get the puck to the net all the time," Balboni said. "Good things happen and we'll get some bounces along the way."

The Icers have heeded their coach's advice, peppering Scranton goalie David Skinner with 61 shots during Friday night's 4-2 victory over the Ice Royals. During that game, Penn State goalie Chris Matteo faced only 19 shots.

"When we play, we stick to our system and stick to our goals," Matteo said. Any time you get less than 20 shots a game you're going to be happy. It takes a lot of pressure off me to help the team."

In the beginning of Friday's game, Penn State was unable to break away from Scranton, remaining tied at two through two periods despite holding a 30-9 shot advantage.

Forward Michael McMullen, who scored the go-ahead penalty shot goal against Scranton, admitted that the team was getting frustrated at the team's inability to get a lot of pucks in the net, especially during a particular flurry in which the Icers hit multiple posts.

However, by plugging away and continuing to put shots on goal, Penn State finally was able to grab the lead for good.

In Sunday's contest against Navy, the Icers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in a first period in which they outshot the Midshipmen 20-4. In the second period, though, they came out flat, getting away from their gameplan and allowing Navy to tie it up at three heading into the final stanza.

During the second intermission, Balboni told his team that Navy was back in the game simply because the Icers stopped working as hard as they did to start the game. In the third period, Penn State regained its earlier form, bringing the pressure to Navy and closing out the game with a 6-3 victory.

The final shot tally for the Midshipmen was 19, while the Icers finished with 47. This was a stat Matteo was grateful for.

"The guys have been great. The amount of blocked shots has been incredible. You gotta give the D and the forwards a lot of credit for blocking some of those shots," Matteo said.

After winning both games to open up their home season, the Icers will try to continue the trend of putting lots of pressure on their opponents while minimizing the chances they allow.

If they are able to keep the numbers in their favor, the Icers should remain among the ACHA's elite teams.