Moments after the five-on-five scrimmage ended, ACHA Division I Penn State Icers assistant coach Bill Downey posted a single piece of paper on a window at Greenberg Ice Pavilion.
If their name was scribbled onto the page, it meant they made it to Friday, the third day of Icers tryouts.
For the walk-ons and recruits who made it through the first tryout Wednesday night, Thursday was not only the second day, but also the first time for the coaching staff to see the recruits with some of the returning Icers. All of them are battling for what Penn State head coach Scott Balboni expects to be 27 to 30 roster spots.
"We have some expectations of some players and some guys we think can step in and play right away and help us out," Downey said. "We're gonna need that obviously with the numbers we have. But as far as the guys that are standing out, there are players that are, for good and bad, and we'll address that when the time comes."
The coaching staff assembled in the Greenberg bleachers saw a tryout that at first was filled with missed passes and shots wide of the net on odd-man rush drills, although Downey said it got a little better later.
"I think it was a little bit sloppy to start," Downey said of Thursday's tryout. "I think a lot of guys are still getting their feet under them. But that's something you gotta prepare for during the summer. You're coming into a tryout, you're trying to make a team, you gotta be ready to go."
Some of the returning Icers did not participate in the tryout Thursday. Most notably absent were forward Tim O'Brien and goaltender Teddy Hume, among others. Forward Matt Kirstein did participate Thursday, but left during the scrimmage with an injury.
It did provide a chance for some Icers, like forward Chris Pronchik who was bothered by injuries last year, to get back on the ice in a scrimmage. Pronchik skated on the top line of the white team with Kirstein until he left.
"Pronny looks great," assistant coach Pat Fung said. "Really looks like he went home and skated a lot over the summer. He was hurt a lot last year, so even though he was definitely fast last year, he was always playing with some type of injury." Hume's absence allowed backup John Jay, who is expected to battle with Hume for playing time in goal, to participate in the tryout.
"Feels great to have scrimmages with whistles and everything," Jay said. "Get that game flow under you, because there's nothing like, you can practice, but there's nothing like a game situation."
At the end of the day, Kirstein's name was on the roster, as were O'Brien's and Hume's. The Icers will have an off-ice workout Friday, then return for the final tryout Monday when the roster will be finalized.
"Still some decisions we gotta make," Downey said. "I'm confident what we have on the ice, regardless of what we have, at the end of Monday we're gonna have a good product."
