Icecats face defending champs over the break

Dan Kempner Arizona Daily Wildcat Sophomore left-wing Paul Dorn (10) celebrates after scoring a goal during Friday's game against Arizona State at the Tucson Convention Center. The undefeated Arizona Icecats will take on defending American Collegiate Hockey Association champion Penn State on Jan. 8 and 9 at the TCC.

"We're going to have to play solid hockey, with lines one through four playing flawless hockey," freshman left-wing Kevin Meehan said.

The Penn State Icers currently stand at 11-1-0 and finish the first half of the season this

weekend against Kent State. The only Icer loss so far has been to Michigan-Dearborn, which currently stands at No. 3 in the ACHA.

With debate of whether or not to become a true Division I team at hand, the Icers appear to have their backs to the wall. Nothing short of another title will be good enough for the Penn State faithful.

If the Icecats are ever going to make a statement, the Penn State series appears to be the ideal time. Undefeated going into the break, with a dominant sweep over Arizona State leading the way, the Icecats appear to be ready for the most challenging of opponents. "This past week was Icecat national awareness week," head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "The chemistry on this team is unbelievable. It's great to be able to go into the break

with this kind of momentum."

New players seem to be popping up every week to take over the role as hero. Paul Dorn, the sophomore left-wing and co-captain, has led the team in scoring and total points for the first half of the season. But as opponents key up on Dorn, other players have been stepping up to fill the void. The play of sophomore center Hunter Chernack and Meehan, among others, has turned the Icecats into a multifaceted scoring arsenal. The play of junior goalie Mark Meister has continued to be unbelievable, as he glove-saved his way into stardom, allowing a total of five goals in the homestand against the Sun Devils.

With Penn State next on the schedule, the Icecats will finally have a national showcase in which to prove themselves.

"There's a lot of politics in the ranking of collegiate hockey, and I feel we sometimes don't get our due," Golembiewski said. "We just need a chance to prove ourselves on the national stage."

Penn State will be that chance.

Ryan Finley can be reached e-mail at Ryan.Finley@wildcat.arizona.edu.