Going up!
As of yesterday, the Icers reached the top floor when they received the No. 1 ranking in the ACHA for the first time in Icers’ history.
“I’m obviously excited,” Coach Joe Battista said. “It is the first time that we have ever been ranked No. 1 in the regular season, ever. Then taking the Michigan Dearborn tournament was just icing on the cake.”
Battista doesn’t want to take all of the credit for the Icers’ roaring 11-0 start. He attributes much of their success to the talent of his players.
“I’m not going to strain any muscles patting myself on the back,” Battista said. “We’ve got a strong team with a lot of depth and speed, and I am going to sit back and enjoy this year.”
Seven of the main reasons that Battista feels makes his job easier are this year’s seniors. He has been seeing big things from this class since their freshmen year, when they won the national championship.
“They’ve been standouts since they have been freshmen,” Battista said. “It is great to have seven guys with their poise, speed and versatility.”
The senior’s versatility has allowed Battista, a typically defensive oriented coach, to completely change his philosophy to their potent run and gun attack.
“If someone would have said to you that this coaching staff would have used this run and gun philosophy four years ago, I would have laughed at you,” Battista said. “I have always been a strictly defensive coach, but lets face it, If you have a stable full of thoroughbreds, you would have to be dumb not to let them run.”
Run they have. The Icers have outscored their opponents 99-17, and has even broke the 20-goal mark in one match. Some critics have said the Icers’ success has come from a lack of competition in their new league the ACHL, but Battista said that they had beat a lot of the same teams when they were in the ICHL. He added that the brunt of their competition is yet to come.
“We still have Rhode Island and Toledo, who are both undefeated,” He said. “We will deal with them accordingly, but right now I am excited, to say the least about being number one.”
This doesn’t mean that the Icers are content with their new heights and will stop working.
Battista warns of quite the opposite, “The rankings are nice now, but they don’t mean a lot when the playoffs come around. We are going to have to keep our work ethic, and go into every game to win.”