For former Icer defenseman Josh Brandwene, a little comfusion might be forgivable this weekend.

Instead of making a right to the home bench when he exits the locker room -- like he did from 1987-1991 -- West Virginia's current head coach will have to make the unfamiliar trip to the visiting team's bench.

Brandwene's No. 12 Mountaineers (15-9) will battle the American Collegiate Hockey Association's No. 1 Icers (19-4-1) at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow in the ice pavilion. But before that, the Icers have to deal with No. 9 Delaware (18-3-1) at 9 p.m. today, also at home.

"It's definitely going to be different," Brandwene said. "I tried to imagine 100 times what it's going to be like."

Tomorrow, Icer Coach Joe Battista will be facing one of his own. In fact, Brandwene cited Battista as a major factor in his becoming a coach.

"Coach Battista was by far the biggest influence from a professional standpoint," he said. "I am certainly looking forward to coming back to State College -- I'm excited and nervous."

Brandwene's familiarity with the Icers' strategies might not give his squad an edge -- the Icers will have a few new tricks up their sleeves.

"Josh Brandwene knows our system -- he was here," Battista said. "We have a couple of new wrinkles to throw at them. There'll be a few surprises."

Not surprising, however, is the team's confidence.

"There's no way they're gonna keep with us," senior forward Cliff Graziano said. "We're on railroad tracks and we're going too fast and we're going to boulder over them."

In order to best the competition, the Icers will look for the return of several players to the lineup. Senior Andrew Strasser said he was ready to return after a knee injury, but Battista said the forward could benefit from a few more days of rest.

But two forwards -- senior Dave Raymer (injured hand) and freshman Brian Green (concussion) --will definitely sit out. Sophomore forward Rich Martha and four defensemen -- freshman Jurgen Cautreels, senior John Farrall and sophomores Steve Hajek and Eddie Kmit -- are probable.

A healthy defensive unit will be necessary to counteract both West Virginia and Delaware. The Mountaineers are paced by sophomore forwards Paul Pipke (80 points) and Tim Johnson (70).

Delaware is led by senior Jason Bergy, the team's top scorer. To control these scorers, the Icers have concentrated on defense in practice.

"That's where we're putting the bulk of our emphasis," Battista said. "I know we can score goals."