The ACHA Division II Penn State Ice Lions entered play March 10 with a chance to finally knock down a wall they've struggled to climb in recent years at the national tournament.

Instead they found themselves at the mercy of frozen rubber.

What could've been a glorious day for Penn State instead became a microcosm of the last three years. Behind a slow start and a couple of bad bounces, the Ice Lions fell to Eastern Washington, 5-2, giving Eastern Washington the Pool B championship and the lone berth in the semis, and sending Penn State home in round robin play for the third consecutive season.

The Ice Lions never led in the game, as Eastern Washington was able to jump out to a quick lead and never relinquished. Senior goaltender Dan Koletsky, who had allowed four goals in the previous two games, allowed five on Friday, albeit on 45 shots.

Freshman Dylan Huckstein and sophomore Chad Uddstrom, who scored his third goal in three games to lead the team, tallied the goals for Penn State in the loss. Head coach Pat Fung said that the team played well but just didn't have the same jump they did for the first two games.

"I don't want to say there wasn't things we didn't do well because that's not the case," Fung said. "My guys did what they needed to do."

Whatever the cause for the loss, it wasn't due to lack of effort. The Ice Lions fired 39 shots at Eastern Washington goaltender Andy Pate. Penn State came into the third trailing, 4-2, and had chances in the third to come back, but hit four posts

It was a painful way to end the season for the Ice Lions, especially for seniors such as Koletsky, captain Jay Smith and forward Adam Levine, who played their final game in blue and white. Fung told his 11 seniors after the game how proud he was of them and also thanked them for their four years of service to the team.

It was even more painful considering how things started for the Ice Lions. After winning their first two games by a combined score of 12-4, it looked like the third time would finally be the charm for Penn State. But Fung said that it was lingering in the back of his mind that eventually the winds of change would gust perpendicular to his team.

"Things went so well the first two games, you kind of expect that we were going to hit the wall," Fung said.

But despite being turned away again in the tournament, it was still a season to remember for the Ice Lions, especially since it started with a team that had lost a lot of its offense and had to completely reconstruct itself. What he was most proud of was they way the guys came together, especially the way the younger players were able to contribute all season, and especially in the playoffs and nationals.

"We did lose a lot of scoring," Fung said. "We had to redefine the kind of team we were and be remolded from block one."

With guys like Uddstrom and his trio of young goalies, Fung is set not only for next year, but for a couple of years down the line.