Fans of the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers were persistent.

Despite the protective net surrounding the rink at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, they still whipped their hats toward the ice.

Although none reached the playing surface, it didn't stop the faithful from celebrating Nate Obringer's hat trick during the third period of Saturday's 10-3 win against No. 11 Delaware.

On a day where No. 3 Penn State did little wrong offensively, the soft-spoken junior forward stole the spotlight by recording his second three-goal performance of the season (also at home) to become the team leader in goals scored with 13.

"I was just trying to get open and bury the puck when I got the chance," Obringer said.

"I was struggling a little bit for awhile, but it's always good to get it done like that -- break out and score three goals."

The prettiest of those three goals came midway through the third period.

With the Icers holding a comfortable lead and the game well in hand, Obringer used some advice from his teammates and coaches to complete the hat trick.

"They were telling me to skate it in from the neutral zone," he said. And that's exactly what he did.

Once Obringer crossed into the offensive zone, he skated around two Blue Hens, sidestepped another and beat the goaltender for a highlight-reel score.

It was a play that ESPN announcer Chris Berman would have used four or five "whoops" to describe and certainly impressed those in the stands and on the ice.

"That third goal was pretty nasty," junior forward Matt Schwartz said. "I haven't seen a goal like that in a long time.

"Obie's been playing real well. He's a solid player...and he's really been picking up his game lately."

While his third tally may have been the most visually appealing, it was Obringer's first that may have changed the final outcome of the game.

Penn State's 3-2 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the second period was put in serious jeopardy when sophomore forward Jaime Zimmel was ejected for checking from behind and Delaware received a five-minute power play.

However, despite having their best players on the ice for most of the man advantage, the Blue Hens were unable to crack the Icers' aggressive penalty kill.

When the penalty expired, the fans gave Penn State a standing ovation. Before they had a chance to sit back down, Obringer corralled a pass from Schwartz and scored the backbreaking goal.

"That was absolutely the key point of the game," head coach Scott Balboni said. "It ended up being a turning point in the game for us because we got a lot of energy after that kill and [Delaware] deflated."