Before their series with Buffalo this weekend, Lady Icers head coach Michael Brinton said that the games with Buffalo offered his team a chance to set the tone for the rest of the season.

If this weekend did set that tone, then the Penn State Lady Icers (4-5, 2-2 ECWHL) made a strong statement to the rest of the league by sweeping an inexperienced Buffalo team in commanding fashion, winning both games by a combined score of 21-3.

The Lady Icers established early on that they would control the tone of the series, scoring eight goals in the first period on Saturday night.

Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season, the team won 15-1 with four Lady Icers scoring multiple goals. Alicia Lepore led the way with four goals. Dana Voelker and Ceili Stahl each had three goals and Chelsea Sacks scored twice.

Yesterday, the team seemed to have a hangover from the previous night, though it still won 6-2 and out shot Buffalo 56-25. Lepore again turned in a multi-goal effort, scoring two goals to give her a team-high 17 on the season, and Stahl added her eighth goal, putting her second on the team in goals scored.

"I was very excited to see Alicia and Ceili take charge," Brinton said.

Despite the decisive victories, Brinton was not totally satisfied with his team's performance.

"Offensively, we looked pretty good," he said. "Defensively we played pretty poorly at times."

Brinton said that the team's forwards are currently too concerned with scoring goals, which Brinton said makes it difficult for the defense to get the puck out of its zone. Brinton said that although the team's nonchalant attitude did not hurt it this weekend, if they don't emphasize defense more against better opponents it will hurt the team.

Brinton said he was also dissatisfied with the team's intensity yesterday, feeling that it let up after winning big on Saturday night.

"We have to make sure we show up," Brinton said, "I thought we played pretty lousy."

Though the Lady Icers collected their first league wins this weekend, Buffalo is in a rebuilding mode, only returning five players from last year's playoff team and does not figure to play into the postseason race.

However, this weekend's strong performance has Brinton feeling confident about his team heading into another crucial league matchup with Massachusetts Nov. 4-5 at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

"We've got some firepower," Brinton said, "They were ready for the challenge."