Back in August, Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski didn't know what he had.

His 1995-96 team would feature 11 freshman and a tough schedule including four of the teams from the 1995 American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament. But he soon discovered he had something special.

"That's what makes this team so cool," he said. "A lot of teams have 11 freshman, but maybe only three or four contribute € on this team all 11 contribute."

And in a big way. Freshman goaltenders Joel Hilshey and Eric Holton were a big part of the Icecats' final 23-8-1 record and No.5 ranking in the ACHA.

Hilshey started 24 games for the Icecats and was solid in the nets against some top-notched teams. Against national runners-up Iowa State, Hilshey helped the Icecats to 9-2 and 8-3 victories.

Overall, Hilshey stopped 87.7 percent of the shots he faced and had a 3.53 goals against average, all while playing through pain.

"You've got to give Hilshey a lot of credit," Golembiewski said. "He played with the bad groin all year and then came back from the hammy (Hilshey suffered a hamstring injury on Feb. 10) and had a great tournament."

Holton, a Tucson native, started the final five regular-season games in Hilshey's absence and compiled a 3-1-1 record with a 2.99 goals against average.

On the offensive end, the Icecats € as always € were not short of firepower. Senior center Kevin Oztekin led the team in scoring with 26 goals and 45 assists. Freshman Ben Ruston provided a reason to look forward to the next three years with his 25 goals and 27 assists, while junior forwards Peter Scott and Andy Knick will return next season along with their combined 62 points.

Senior defenseman Mark Thawley and Jon Muntz used strong seasons to finish No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, on the Arizona all-time scoring defenseman list. With an assist against Iowa State at the tournament, Thawley became just the fourth Icecat in the team's 17-year history to notch 100 points, finishing with 101. Muntz tallied 97 points to put him just one point behind assistant coach Jeremy Goltz.

But perhaps more of a factor in this season's success was the fact that the Icecats went out and simply had fun playing the game.

"We had a lot of fun with it all year," Golembiewski said.

How much fun?

The Icecats took time away from the national tournament € where they finished 1-2 € for a Nerf football game. Golembiewski quarterbacked the defensemen to a 28-21 win on a last-second touchdown pass to freshman Josh Waggoner.

Despite a disappointing finish to a season that held such promise, Golembiewski said his players have nothing to feel down about.

"There's no hollow feeling if you've played your hardest," he said.