EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior forward Mickey Meehan splits a pair of ASU defenders during a matchup at the Tucson Convention Center last month.

The UA Icecats overcame the challenge of not playing a game in more than a month with a sweep of St. Louis over the weekend at the Tucson Convention Center to start 2005 with two wins.

Friday night's 3-2 win was Arizona's (7-6-1) first game since Dec. 7. The team's rust showed on the offensive end before breaking out with a 6-0 win Saturday night.

"Offensively, we've been inconsistent all season long," said head coach Leo Golembiewski. "We looked unskilled at times putting the puck in the net."

UA fired 41 shots on goal Friday, but only three got past SLU goaltender Joe Siepka.

"We didn't control the puck, and the second was our only good period," Golembiewski said.

Despite the Icecats' offensive woes, they outplayed SLU for much of the night.

Senior defenseman Mike Smith scored the first goal of the spring semester less than three minutes into the period on an assist from Mike Pelletier.

In the second period, junior center Cole Dunlop scored a goal, the second of his three points, on a put-back of a D.J. Pelletier slap shot.

The outing was D.J. Pelletier's first since Nov. 6, when he suffered a broken finger against Weber State.

Golembiewski said Pelletier's return would have a huge impact on the team's performance in the second semester.

SLU cut UA's two-goal lead in half early in the final period, when Rex Szyper scored on an SLU power play.

UA answered nearly five minutes later when Smith scored his second goal of the night on an assist from Dunlop and center Craig Irwin.

The final minutes of the night were marred by sloppiness and penalties. Arizona received five penalties in the third period, including three 10-minute unsportsmanlike conducts against Smith, Mike Pelletier and Mickey Meehan.

SLU's Alex Merkle also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The Billikens closed out the night with a goal in the last 45 seconds. Siepka was pulled from the net, and a UA penalty gave SLU an advantage of six skaters to four on the ice.

The Icecats returned Saturday night with an extra spark in their skates, beating the Billikens 6-0.

UA attacked the goal early and often. The first goal came with five minutes left in the first period.

Irwin received a pass from Smith just in front of the crease and slipped the puck past Siepka.

Minutes later, senior right wing Don Holtz followed up an Irwin shot for the rebound goal, Arizona's first successful power play of 2005.

Freshman center Scott Marshall scored UA's third goal with less than two minutes left in the second, when he fired a shot from the left side that ricocheted off an SLU defender and into the net.

Less than a minute into the third, junior defenseman Anthony Capone scored from in front of the crease off a pass from Dunlop.

Holtz earned a hat trick in the third period, scoring the game's final two goals, on assists from Meehan, Dunlop and freshman defenseman Max Sliwinski.

"We put it together after a sloppy Friday night," Golembiewski said. "I'm pleased with the performance."

Golembiewski said UA's goaltending was "outstanding" all weekend.

Senior goaltender Bryan Aronchick worked the pipes Friday, stopping 20 SLU shots.

"(Penalty killing) can make (the defense) tired," Aronchick said. "Our defense played really well."

He added he was impressed with the play of Nick Webster, a junior defenseman from Chicago.

Webster joined the Icecats over the break along with Tempe native Kyle Chilton.

Aronchick took Saturday night off, which allowed freshman Luke Edwall his first ice-time of the season.

Golembiewski said he gave Edwall the starting nod a month earlier to allow him preparation time.

The freshman goaltender made the most of it, stonewalling all 14 SLU shots Saturday.

"It was a little nerve-wracking," Edwall said of his first collegiate start. "We just practice hard every day. Aronchick is a great mentor.

"It feels (great) to get a big egg on the scoreboard," he said of his first colligate shutout.

The Icecats, over .500 for the first time this season, look to stay unbeaten in 2005 when they host DePaul Friday at the TCC.