They travel for weeks across the frozen United States. They'll see slap shots in Canada, goalies in Michigan, and high-powered scoring throughout the Northeast. Varsity hockey coaches take to the road, in a quest to find the blue-chip recruit. This is recruiting in collegiate hockey.

However, here at Penn State, the ice hockey team is in a unique situation. As a club sport, it is not afforded the same recruiting advantages as a varsity program, so things have to be done a little bit differently.

"We make lots of phone calls and do a lot of writing," Coach Joe Battista said. "It's a very inexact thing, almost like playing craps in Las Vegas."

Battista said that many times he will only see a potential player in person once, or see him on videotape. The rest of the time is spent talking to coaches about players who may be able to play at this level.

Battista is quick to acknowledge that his approach to recruiting is somewhat different from other coaches.

"I don't try to sell anything or anybody," Battista said. "I let them see what's here. I tell all the kids to make sure they come to Penn State because they want to go to school here, not because they want to play hockey here. Our saying is that, 'You're going to be pushing a pencil a lot longer than you're going to be pushing a puck.' "

Defenseman Eddie Kmit is one of a handful of freshmen who has seen a significant amount of playing time. Kmit recently went through the recruiting process, but in this case, the player took the first step.

"I called Coach Battista and told him my level of play," Kmit said. "When I came to visit, he was very honest with me. He made no promises, and after talking to him, I knew I wanted to go to school here and not just play hockey."

Kmit contrasted his experience with Penn State to the manner in which he was recruited by other schools. He said other institutions stressed the perks associated with playing hockey to the point that it became an annoyance.

"I want a kid to make a rational decision about why he wants to come to Penn State," Battista said. "If somebody wants to come here just to play hockey, that's the wrong recipe for success."