A Game of Good and Bad

It was their first big test of the season, and while the outcome isn't what the players, coaches, fans and - yes even the broadcaster - wanted, there were a lot of positives in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Ohio Bobcats.

Penn State was playing just its 3rd game of the season, while OU entered the night with a record of 7 wins and 0 losses. The Icers were handed a gift win a week ago, while the Bobcats had allowed just 5 goals in 7 games.

Most importantly, there were 6 freshmen in the Icers lineup - none of them having faced OU and the rabid OU fans while skating on the tiny ice surface at the Bird Arena.

Scott Balboni and Bill Downey made the right move by starting the freshman line of Saad, Steinhour and Morrone, with Rich O'Brien lined up on the blue line for the opening faceoff with co-captain Steve Thurston.

Ryan Erbe and Dan Loucks also saw substantial ice time on defense, and Loucks seemed to get stronger as the game progressed.

The Kid Line came out banging, getting a couple of scoring chances in the opening minutes. The Icers continued to keep OU on its heels through the first half of the opening period, but the Bobcats began to battle back.

At one point Penn State held a 6-0 shot advantage, but the teams ended the first scoreless, with OU outshooting the Icers 8-7, an indication of how tight the game would be.

Ted Hume had a solid outing in net, robbing OU freshman Jonathan Pietramalla late in the first period.

Penalties to Dan Loucks and Steve Thurston late in the period gave OU a 2-man advantage, but shortly after the Icers killed off the Bobcats' power play it was Domenic Morrone opening the scoring with his 4th of the season at 2:01.

Michael Schultz tied it for OU with his 5th goal of the season at 16:34 of the second as the Bobcats outshot the Icers 10-6 in the middle frame. Schultz notched his 6th of the season at 6:50 of the 3rd period, a power play goal with Ryan Erbe in the penalty box.

The Icers ran into penalty problems, thanks in part to some questionable calls by referee Sean Andring. In fact, both coaches gave the officiating crew an earful throughout the game. Unofficially, OU was 1 for 7 with the man advantage, while the Icers went 0 for 4 on the power play.

Co-captain Matt Kirstein told me after the game that despite the loss, there were a lot of positives to take from the team's performance.