With first-game jitters and a freshman starting at goaltender, the Arizona Icecats will face an unbeaten Stanford team this weekend at the Tucson Convention Center.

The Cardinal, off to a 3-0-2 start already this season, will be in town for games tonight and tomorrow with the Icecats. Faceoff on both nights is at 7:30 p.m.

Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski said Arizona hopes to maintain the undefeated record it has earned against the Cardinal over the years.

"Stanford has to be concerned," he said. "They haven't beaten us in their history."

Still, history is history, and Stanford head coach Ernie Ferrari said his team knows what it has to do to end its losing streak against the Icecats.

"We need to maintain and stay competitive with their depth," Ferrari said. "They always come out in the third period and put the game away. We need to cut down our mistakes and see new cards play in the third period."

Even if Stanford cuts down on its mistakes, it probably won't slow down the Icecats' offense.

"We want to execute our style of play - speed and quickness," Golembiewski said. "Having speed is an Icecat standard."

The Icecats' will pose problems for the young Stanford squad, which lost many of its veteran players to graduation.

"We're a very young team," Ferrari said. "We're in a learning and development phase, but we're strong in our defensive zone. We're still trying to come together."

The Cardinal started its season without female goalie Sami Jo Small, who recently had shoulder surgery. However, she should be ready for the series with the Icecats. Although she missed the Cardinal's first few games, Ferrari said she will start at least one game this weekend.

With an Icecat front line that includes the experience of right wing Andy Knick, left wing Peter Scott and center Ben Ruston, Stanford knows what to expect.

"Coach Golembiewski's teams have always been solid and disciplined," Ferrari said. "They're a great team and their depth is superior to ours."

The Icecats may have great depth, but with 10 freshman making up a good chunk of the team, the anxiety of the first game may pose a problem. Freshman goaltender Beau LeMire will be forced to focus on the mental part of the game.

"He may be nervous," Golembiewski said. "We try to approach it level-headed and teach him from a psychological standpoint."

Starting defensemen Bob Majka and Paul Juran will assist LeMire in keeping his eye on the puck.

"He needs to seek and find the puck at all times," Golembiewski said. "We've taught him to void out what's going on around him."

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