Well, it's about 20 hours until the puck drops on another great season of Penn
State Icer hockey, and I thought I'd share a few things from tonight's "Penn
State Icers Report" shown on C-NET/7 (a local access channel):
 
1.  More Defense
     - It seems the Icers will change their style of play, at least for the
beginning of the season.  The Icers will have to adjust to the loss of 12 of
last year's players, and modify their "run-and-gun" style from last year.  This
probably means that the goal totals for this year will be down dramatically from
the team record 313 goals in 34 games set last year.  Coach Joe Battist hopes,
however, to be able to return to that style of play as soon as possible.
 
     - In addition, Icer co-captains Erik Lightner and Mark Cervellero said that
there will be a lot more emphasis on defense and discipline (i.e. staying out
of the penalty box).
 
2.  UMass Notes
 
     -  The Icers penalty killing unit performed well on Sunday against the
UMass Minutemen, holding UMass to 1 goal on 8 power plays.  The Icers power
play, however, gave up 2 shorthanded goals.
 
3.  Moving On Up?
 
     - Coach Joe Battista complimented UMass on the fine job they did of
upgrading their hockey program to Division I, and said that if an ice surface
is installed in the new Bryce Jordan Center, then Penn State could easily make
the jump to Div. I a couple of years after that, due to Penn State's location
and reputation.  Whether they will or not will depend, in my opinion, on how
close Penn State is to the Big Ten's gender equity goal.
 
4.  About Duquesne
 
     - The Icers will open the 1993-94 season against the Dukes of Duquesne on
Friday night.  Duquesne finished fifth in ACHA Division II last year.
 
Well, that's all for now.  I hope to have a game summary by Saturday afternoon.
 
 *****************************************************************************
 *       Jeremy Hall          [log in to unmask]          Penn State Univ.     *
 *                                                                           *
 *                CLARKSON GOLDEN KNIGHTS: 1993 ECAC CHAMPIONS               *
 *                                                                           *
 *                            PENN STATE ICERS:                              *
 *         1992-93 ATLANTIC LEAGUE REGULAR SEASON & TOURNAMENT CHAMPS        *
 *                                                                           *
 *     LET'S GO TECH!!!!                                LET'S GO ICERS!!     *
 *****************************************************************************