Icecats drop tourney game

"We came out ready to play," Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "But later in the game, we seemed dead."

The Icecats' national championship hopes are still alive. The round-robin tournament style allows the Icecats to win their next two games and still have a shot at the championship game, which will be played on March 6.

"We still have a shot," Golembiewski said, "but that'll require beating Penn State and Towson."

No. 2 seed Penn State beat the Towson Tigers 5-1 Wednesday afternoon. Golembiewski said Towson struggled to keep it that close.

"Towson's goalie did a bang-up job," he said. "It could have been a lot, lot worse."

The Icecats opened up play with a one-goal first period lead. Paul Dorn netted a shot, assisted by Mike Graves and Marc Harris. Harris scored midway through the second period, giving the Icecats a 2-1 lead. Two straight Wolves' goals left the Icecats with a 3-2 deficit, and a score with nine minutes left cemented a UMD victory.

The big story for the Icecats was penalty minutes. Michigan-Dearborn had five straight power plays and six for the game, netting their final goal while on the power play.

"It was a disappointing day," Golembiewski said. "As the game went on, the penalties increased, and our intensity level died."

Next on the docket for the Icecats will be a 2 p.m. game today against Penn State, a team which swept the Icecats Jan. 8-9 at the Tucson Convention Center.

"When we played the Icers in January, it was our first series in over a month," Golembiewski said. "We played sloppily and hopefully this time we'll improve."

The Icecats lost a first round playoff game to the Icers last year.

"There's no love lost between the Icecats and Penn State," Golembiewski said. "We just need to keep our eyes on the prize."

Ryan Finley can be reached at Ryan.Finley@wildcat.arizona.edu