Friday Night Fights

I think that it's safe to say that the Penn State Icers and Niagara Purple Eagles weren't exactly in the spirit of the season on Friday night.

I think that it's safe to say that the coaches are none too pleased with what transpired, despite the fact that the Icers cruised to a 10-3 win.

I'll leave it to Tom Kinslow of the Collegian to give you the gory details of the game, especially the second period. Referee Tim Foreman had his hands full, calling 35 minutes in penalties and three game disqualifications!

There are not a lot of positives to report, with a few notable exceptions. George Saad finally got off the schneid, recording a hat-trick that doubled his goal output in the first semester.

Rich O'Brien scored his first goal as an Icer. As Rich's father, and former Icer, Rick told me in an e-mail, "Didn’t take him much to beat my scoring stats. I still have him on penalty minutes but it’s only a matter of time before that falls."

But, I have to say the highlight of the night was the play of Niagara freshman Patrick Martin. Martin was called upon to don the pads after starting goalie Patrick Jankowski was tossed out during the melee at 7:57 of the second.

After a delay of about a half-hour, Martin emerged from under the stands looking like a kid who had never played goal in his life. But in the first minute between the pipes he made several outstanding saves, including a diving case of highway robbery on Eric Steinour.

The Martin family was listening to the webcast from their home on Long Island. Sue Martin e-mailed to say her son had played goal -- AS A 12-YEAR OLD IN ROLLER HOCKEY!

Martin gave up 7 goals, but his 27 saves earned him third-star honors and several rounds of applause from the fans of both teams.

OK, so the Icers finish the first semester with a record of 18-2-1 and winners of 13 of the past 14 games, which ain't bad at all. The second semester won't be a cakewalk, starting with Robert Morris U. at the Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase at the Mellon Arena on January 8.

As the players gear up for finals week and the holiday break, I'll have a chance to get to work on the video that we are putting together to mark the 70th anniversary of hockey in Happy Valley.

One of the great pleasures of being with the team has been the opportunity to meet and get to know John Dufford. Mr. Dufford was a member of the original Penn State hockey team in 1939-40.

John is on the sunny side of 80, and up until a few years ago he skated in the Alumni Game.

I still say that helmet should be in the Hockey Hall of Fame!

I visited John at his home in Connecticut following the Rhode Island weekend.

Here's the "Icers Pioneer" reminiscing about how he wound up on the team and how a coach could crank up his players as easily back then as they can today.