Excuses should never be used to justify a team’s poor performance, but the Arizona Icecats (2-5) certainly haven’t been the most fortunate team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association through their first seven games.

First pneumonia, next H1N1, throw in a concussion and a few injured hips and shoulders, and you have the first month of the season for the Icecats. But along with those ailments came inconsistent and inefficient play.

While missing six players due to injury, the Icecats were swept in Tempe by ASU. They went two and one at the ACHA Showcase in Ohio a week later, but were unable to build off of that momentum against University of Nevada, Las Vegas two weeks ago, as they were swept and outscored 15-6.

“”I don’t think there’s one thing that you can pinpoint. It’s just been a combination of everything,”” senior defenseman Zach Cherney said of the team’s rough start. “”You can’t just blame one person for all of the losses. It’s a team effort.””

As Cherney said, there were a variety of factors that led to the Icecats’ disappointing 2-5 start. But regardless of how ugly the first seven games were, the Icecats are finally back at home, fully healthy, and they have no reason not to perform.

“”Everybody’s back, there’s no excuses and it’s time to start getting the job done,”” said associate head coach Dave Dougall. “”We’ve got to get some wins, that’s our biggest concern right now.””

The Icecats will host Eastern Washington this Friday and Saturday night at the Tucson Convention Center in hopes of turning the season around. Unlike the first seven games of the season, the team has four healthy lines in place and thousands of fans to back them up. There truly are no excuses.

The Icecats are certain that their 2-5 record is not indicative of their talent, but they need to prove it on the ice, and what better way to do so than in front of their fans at home?

“”It’s the ambiance, it’s the feel, it’s the madhouse,”” head coach Leo Golembiewski said of the Tucson Convention Center. “”It’s our barn, our locker room, it’s home.””

Freshman Scotty Willson said it best: “”The energy that’s going to be in this building on Friday and Saturday should be unreal. If we’re not coming out on all cylinders I don’t know what’s wrong with us.””

The first month of the Icecats’ season has come with a slew of complications, which clearly played a part in their disappointing start. But the Icecats now have the ball in their court: a healthy team, an electric home crowd and some solid practice time under their belt.

“”We have a full team now,”” Cherney said. “”There’s no excuses, there’s no sicknesses, nobody has the flu, everyone’s healthy, no injuries. So now it’s time to play.””