In case any of the Penn State Icers weren't aware of Friday night's momentous occasion, goaltender Chris Matteo, the only departing senior on the ACHA's No. 1 team, decided to give them a friendly reminder before their game began.

"Welcome to Chris Matteo night," he said to his teammates in the locker room. "If you guys need anything, let me know."

Prior to its last home game of every season, Penn State honors the senior players who will be ending their collegiate hockey careers. It seemed only fitting that Matteo, who is fourth place on the list of all-time wins by an Icers goaltender with 45, had the night to himself.

"He's an institution here right now," Icers forward Steve Peck said of Matteo. "He's the only senior and everybody looks up to him and looks to him for advice. I just love playing with him."

Matteo's night didn't have a storybook beginning, though. When he skated onto the ice for the first time, he fell flat on his face because of a ball of tape stuck to his skate. Goaltender Nick Signet had a good laugh at Matteo's expense, but Matteo was convinced the tape was put there as a "malicious trick" by one of his teammates.

After the spill, things got better. The announcement of his final game at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion was greeted by a standing ovation that he could only describe as "unbelievable."

"I wasn't expecting that at all," Matteo said. "I've been to a lot of senior nights since I've been here and it's never been like that."

The events on the ice were just as pleasing for Matteo. He stopped nearly every shot he saw in the Icers' 9-1 rout. The only goal came from Maryland's Chase Sandler midway through the second period.

Apparently, Sandler didn't realize what day it was.

The rest of the Icers lauded their goaltender after the game, recognizing his career achievements and his importance to the team during his four-year tenure. The best way they could reward him, though, is to capture the ACHA national title this year.

"[Winning the championship] is a necessity," Matteo said. "It's a must. After three years of coming in second place, I'm not about to go out of here career second-place."

Penn State's shot at the championship will come this week, but this past Friday, Icers forward Luke DeLorenzo was just happy to give Matteo the proper home send-off.

"He's obviously a great goalie and a great person," DeLorenzo said. "It was good to go out there and do well on his night -- not senior night, Chris Matteo night."