CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore Shaun Brooks and the No. 6 Icecats head to Ft. Collins for a two game set with unranked Colorado State this weekend.

The No. 6 Icecats look to make a final statement before tournament seeds announced next week.

The Arizona Icecats hit the road again this weekend, literally, embarking on a fifteen-hour, one-way bus trip to face the Rams of Colorado State in Fort Collins, Co., in a two-game set.

The No. 6 Icecats continue to inch closer to their ultimate goal of the program's second national title this weekend, with a two-game weekend series against the Rams.

"We are really going to be tested this weekend," said UA head coach Leo Golembiewski. "We had a great week of practice, though, which always helps when going on a trip like this."

Golembiewski added that Division II tournament-bound Colorado State is going to be a tough matchup for the surging Icecats, considering the team's long bus ride that began yesterday afternoon.

On top of the wear and tear of the trip, the Icecats also will be set back by the loss of sharpshooting junior forward Andrew Fredricks. Fredricks is most likely out for the rest of the season, said Golembiewski, with a cracked kneecap suffered in last Saturday's 4-2 win at Arizona State.

Inserted into Fredricks' spot in the lineup is freshman forward Banks Concepcion.

"Banks gives us some size to go along with the rest of our team's speed." Golembiewski said.

The Icecats power play has been on fire as of late, with the team notching four straight with a man-advantage on Saturday against ASU.

The Icecats are currently in the midst of a 10-game win streak, bringing the team's overall record to 19-4 with four games to play.

Despite an offense that has topped 10 goals in a game seven times already this season, Golembiewski said the entire team knows that it's the squad's defense that keeps them near the top of the national rankings.

"We are pleased with our six defensemen and definitely our goaltending with (sophomore goaltender Bryan) Aronchick," Golembiewski said. "But we've been having trouble finding a seventh and eighth to go along with them."

The team has continued to switch lines up, with the coaching staff of Golembiewski and associate coach Brian Meehan not deciding on any clear cut lines, citing that longevity of playing together doesn't always mean a line will be cohesive.

"We're looking for nine guys to fill nine spots more than we are looking for set lines," Golembiewski said. "Certain guys play well together, but the team just meshes well as a whole. Our team is pretty well-balanced."

The last time the Icecats faced Colorado State, they defeated the Rams 8-1 and 7-2 on back-to-back nights in November.

This is the last chance for the team to make a statement before the ACHA National Tournament seeds are announced Tuesday. The Icecats will know their positioning despite having two more games to play against ASU at home next weekend. The 2003 tournament will be held on Feb 23-26 in Athens, Ohio, hosted by Ohio University.