Breakout Past: Early Lady Icers Gallery

Until now, I've never done a Breakout Past on the women's team, and there's a very simple reason for that: the information just isn't out there. Believe me, I'd absolutely love to do something like construct a list of every game played by the Lady Icers, but I just don't think it's possible. The ACHA has gone through about five different sites and is only good in bits and pieces. The Collegian's coverage is hit and miss. La Vie is also spotty, not just on the wins and losses, but on whether they even include the team in a given year. I'm not aware of any other sources out there.

I don't have any Lady Icers memorabilia either. If Alicia Lepore or Andrea Lavelle - or anyone else, I just picked out two giants of team history - wants to send me an autographed old glove or something, I could probably make that work. Actually, let's do this: open invitation to any Lady Icers alumnae for an interview that will appear in a future Breakout Past. Email me if interested (click on my name at the bottom of the right-hand column if you don't know my email). Boom, done.

Also email me if you happen to be the guy in charge of Lady Icers recordkeeping. Or if you have anything at all that could help me in any way. I think that about covers it.

Anyway, back on track. While those yearbooks are brutal for accurate, detailed information, they are actually helpful in another way - the pictures. With that in mind, here are most of the yearbook photos from the first five years of the Lady Icers' existence. While I included the specific years in the captions (which are otherwise as they appear in the yearbooks), it's important to know that there's a year delay in coverage due to, I assume, printing deadlines. So the 1998 La Vie actually covers the inaugural 1996-1997 season. The 2002 incarnation seems to cover 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 at the same time without even realizing it.

As usual, click to enlarge, although due to the wildly varying quality of the photos, some enlarge more than others. This concludes the longest explanation ever for a set of fully-captioned pictures. Enjoy.

1998: Ready and waiting, ice hockey goalie Kathy Beckford prepares to defend her net during an early morning practice. The Lady Icers celebrated their first year of competition. The team boasted a winning record of 4-2-1, playing such teams as Michigan and Boston University.

2000: Skating after the puck at practice, forward Lauren Shaw readies herself to play. The team practiced skating and stickhandling to improve its overall skills.

2000: Before an early morning practice, forward Michele Mahno dresses in her protective gear. In addition to practice time on the ice, the team ran and conditioned together in addition to holding weekly meetings.

2000: Singing the national anthem before a home game, the team lines up on the blue line to salute the flag. The newly renovated ice rink provided an area for the team to practice and compete.

2002: Senior wing Michelle Zulkowski tries to put one through the five hole. The Lady Icers skated to their 10th win of the season during this match against the University of Buffalo.

2002: Goalie Jen McDevitt celebrates after her teammate scores a goal. The team continued on their path of excellence, reaching goals that exceeded their expectations.

2002: Penn State's Lady Icers congratulate each other after a win. Although they did not go undefeated for a second year, the team still came out on top of their league.

2002: 2001-2002 Penn State Lady Icers Hockey Team. Alphabetical order: Coach Billie Willits, Lisa Baronio, Kate Connolly, Steph Feyock, Jess Gursky, Becky Holmes, Courtney Izette, Katie King, Andrea Lavelle, Jenna Lichenwalmer, Jen McDevitt, Alexandra McVicker, Kristen Patricelli, Erica Petrosky, Kristen Reed, Faryn Shapiro, Lauren Shaw, Kate Specchio, Michelle Zulkowsky.