Icecats travel to Wis.-Whitewater

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater must be feeling some anxiety about hosting the third-ranked Icecats (18-2-1), who recently defeated Ohio, 7-5.

The 13th-ranked Warhawks (15-10) and the Icecats have met before. In November, the Icecats completely dominated the two-game series, winning 11-5 and 11-4 at the Tucson Convention Center.

Add to that the Icecats' win over two-time defending national champion Ohio and Arizona is more confident about its ability to win on the road now than ever before.

"Craig McCarthy (Ohio's head coach) said that he has never seen such a strong team," Icecat coach Leo Golembiewski said.

The Icecats' strong team has been tested on its seven-game road trip. Arizona suffered its second loss of the season to Arizona State last Thursday, 8-6 in Phoenix at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum. It was just the fifth time in 18 years that ASU defeated the Icecats. The loss, however, didn't stop the Icecats' momentum going into Ohio. Arizona and Ohio tied, 3-3 in the first game, giving the Icecats their first tie of the season.

Freshman goaltender Beau LeMire's performance in the net will be crucial to the Icecats grabbing more wins on the road.

In the past, Golembiewski said LeMire has been inconsistent in the net. However, against Ohio, LeMire had 59 total saves and only allowed the Bobcats to score eight goals.

The road-trip continues for the Icecats and the importance of the remaining games are just as great with the National Tournament right around the corner.

The Icecats and the Warhawks meet tonight and tomorrow in Janesville, Wisc.

After this weekend the Icecats travel to Boulder, Colorado to play the Buffaloes on Feb. 7 and 8.

The Icecats last two games of the regular season are at the TCC on Feb. 22 and 23 when they play host to the Arizona State Ice Devils. Game times are at 7:30.