Icecats split both series over break

Tanith L. Balaban Arizona Daily Wildcat Icecat freshman Paul Dorn takes the offensive against Arizona State earlier this season. Dorn scored 4 goals against Eastern Michigan over the weekend, making his season total 21 goals. The Icecats will play Delaware Friday and Saturday at the Tucson Convention Center.

And they didn't. The Icecats bounced back during the holiday break, splitting series with third-ranked Michigan-Dearborn and fourth-ranked Eastern Michigan.

"We should have won all four games," Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "That's just kind of the way it goes."

The Icecats (9-8) blew a 4-1 lead against Eastern Michigan (17-7) Saturday night, watching the Eagles storm back to take the game, 7-5. The night before, Arizona rebounded from a 4-2 deficit for a 6-4 win.

"We spent the first nine minutes of the second period in the penalty box," Golembiewski said of Saturday's loss. "The refereeing was some of the most interesting I've seen."

The Icecats also won the first game in its series with Michigan-Dearborn (17-7), 4-3, Jan. 3. The Wolverines jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second period of the second game and held off the Icecats, 7-4.

Icecat sophomore goaltender Mike Tesi recorded 52 saves against the Eagles and 53 against the Wolverines.

"Both (first) games were pretty good for me," Tesi said, noting the two games were the only ones the Icecats won.

And despite allowing 13 goals in the two defeats, Golembiewski said Tesi will remain in the net for the remainder of the season.

"He is the number one goaltender, and you go with your number one goaltender," he said. "You don't make changes in your lines on a hunch and you don't make changes with your goaltender on a hunch. Not in January, anyway."

Tesi said he needs to work on his positioning in goal and "to take (games one) period at a time."

New center brings "punch" to team

The Icecats added a new player over the break. Freshman transfer Hunter Chereneck will center the second line with fellow freshmen Mike Graves and Ed Carfora.

"We've got a good team," Chereneck said. "Hopefully we can start stringing some wins together."

Chereneck said although he hasn't scored yet, he brings "some defense and some checking" to the team.

Golembiewski called him a "great defensive forward."

"He'll add a tremendous offensive punch once he gets his legs back," Golembiewski said.

Dorn putting the biscuit in the basket again

Icecat freshman left-wing Paul Dorn scored four goals against Eastern Michigan, pushing his season total to 21, one behind senior center and co-captain Ben Ruston.

"I feel like I've been playing the same," Dorn said of his recent offensive outburst. "The puck has just started going in for me."

Postseason rests on last five series

Dorn called the Icecats' remaining series "must-wins."

To qualify for the American Collegiate Hockey Association's National Tournament, the Icecats have to be ranked among the top eight teams in the country.

Arizona was No. 11 prior to the Eastern Michigan series, trailing Delaware, Towson State and Illinois.

If the Icecats are able to beat Delaware and Towson, they'll likely leap over those two teams in the standings and have a shot at going to nationals for the 19th consecutive year.

Next up on the Icecats' schedule is Delaware, which visits Tucson Friday and Saturday night at the Tucson Convention Center. Both games start at 7:30.

The Icecats then hit the road, traveling to play Arizona State, Delaware, Towson State and Colorado before returning to Tucson Feb. 21 and 22 for the final season series against the Ice Devils.

"We've got to sweep Delaware and beat ASU categorically," Golembiewski said. "With five games left before bids are announced, there's not a lot of room for error."