No. 4 Penn State (11-6) hosts No. 8 West Virginia (11-3-1) at 9 p.m. tonight at the Ice Pavilion, and travels to Fredonia, N.Y., tomorrow for a 7 p.m. game with Division III No. 1 SUNY Fredonia (14-0-1).

Key stats: The Icers look for continued scoring punch from forwards Mark Konchar (15 goals) and Brad Russell (13 goals). Forward Cliff Graziano saw his first action of the season last weekend against Arizona, and scored three times in two games. West Virginia goalkeeper Mike Dolan (9-2, 2.82 goals against) will need to continue his stellar play in net if the Mountaineers are to be successful.

Injuries: Penn State has been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks. Larry O'Byrne may miss the remainder of the season with a separated shoulder. John Farrall has a pulled groin and Konchar is nursing a bruised thigh, but both are probable.

Preview: Penn State returns to the Ice Pavilion after two games in Arizona last weekend. The Icers handed the Ice Cats their first home loss in 29 games with a 7-3 victory last Friday night, but came up on the short end of a 6-3 score Saturday. A win for West Virginia enhances its chances of competing in the ACHA National Championships in March. SUNY Fredonia is on a hot streak, and the Icers will need a sound effort in a hostile arena to come away with a win.

Coach Joe Battista says: "We've had a very good week of practice, and I think we're ready to play. The game with West Virginia may be the single biggest game in the history of their program. This is the highest ranking they have ever had, and if they can beat a team like Penn State, they'll stay there. We're going to Fredonia as underdogs, and we'll have to rise to the occasion."

The Nittany Lions (4-0) will meet the Orangemen at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Syracuse.

Key stats: Last weekend, Penn State gymnasts Jim Delaney, Mark Cooper, Dave Riordan, Tom Ellefson and Jean-Marc Michel made the individual finals at the West Point Open. Cooper, a junior, placed fifth in the all-around and Ellefson, a freshman, came in eighth. For the Orangemen, gymnasts Ofri Porat, Craig Holt, Joe Bascaglia and Mark Bechtold qualified for the individual finals.

Injuries: All of the Lions will make the trip to Syracuse. Both Tony Pansy and Michel, who recently suffered foot injuries, will compete tomorrow.

Preview: In last weekend's West Point Open, Penn State placed second with a score of 272.75, just behind Ohio State (274.45). Syracuse took fourth place with a score of 262.15.

Despite having only four days to train with the team, junior Lee Ricketts is expected to compete. After arriving in State College from England late last week, Ricketts started classes and is eligible for competition.

Riordan will be competing in front of his hometown crowd. The Cortland, N.Y., native is excited to return home.

Coach Randy Jepson says: "(Syracuse) went through quite a dry spell for a while, but now their program is very strong, and they really challenged us here at home last year. We did get them pretty good at West Point, but that was our second meet and their first, so we had a jump on them that way."

The women's indoor track team will travel to Columbus, Ohio this weekend to compete against Ohio State, Tennessee University, Morgan State and University of Pittsburgh beginning at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Key stats: Pitt's line-up boasts Allison Williams and Kim Blair in 55 hurdles and former Olympian Najuma Fletcher in pentathelon.

Injury update: Tennessee's Michelle Bookman, Dedra Davis, Stephanie Fields, Sue Walton and Vickie Hudson will be returning from medical redshirt status and Penn State will be sending Danielle Juliet for the first time since her surgery.

Preview: The upcoming meet marks the first of the year for the Penn State team giving the Lady Lions the chance to let the freshmen gain experience and for the veterans to showcase their talent.

Coach Teri Jordan says: "The major objective of this meet is to start and see where we're at. It's a very new year."

The Lions will take on an alumni team of ex-Lions in their final preseason match at 3 p.m. tomorrow. The match will be played in Gym 2 of the Intramural Building.

Key stats: The Lions are ranked No. 6 in Volleyball Monthly magazine's preseason poll. The alumni are a collection of whichever ex-Lions will choose to appear and compete. Recent graduates Mike Schall and Brian Heffernan will lead the alums.

Injuries: None to report.

Preview: The annual preseason match will not be a display of great competition. The current team has been practicing together all year, while the alumni will simply be thrown together at the last minute. While the match will be a showcase for some good playing, the current team will surely dominate, as history has shown.

Coach Tom Peterson says: "It is going to be really tough for the alumni to come in cold without playing together and beat us."

No. 21 Penn State (5-2) hosts unranked Virginia (5-1) at noon tomorrow at the McCoy Natatorium.

Key stats: Lady Lion Kim Kephart is coming off lifetime bests in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 200 individual medley events last week in Minnesota. Virginia is led by butterfly and freestyle specialist Erin Jones and freestyle swimmer Holly Kleiderlein, both "excellent swimmers," according to Penn State Assistant Coach Mary Bolich. Penn State has a lifetime 5-7 record against Virginia. Last season, Virginia prevailed, 161-139.

Injuries: There are no major injuries for either team.

Preview: Penn State lost to Minnesota 157-143 last Friday in Minnesota and finished second in the Gold Country Invitational last Saturday. Even though this is not a Big Ten meet, the Lady Lions face a traditionally strong team in Virginia. This meet is a challenge for Penn State as it enters the second half of its season. Virginia last competed in the Cavalier Invitational Dec. 3-5, finishing second out of four teams. Virginia is 2-0 in ACC meets this season, losing only to Florida.

Coach Bob Krimmel says: "Virginia is a great team, they have an excellent tradition, and they're well-coached. We're eager to swim well on Saturday. I think they (the PSU swimmers) will be ready to swim a good meet on Saturday."