When great hockey teams lose a quality player, the absence can usually be made up by a top-notch reserve.

But what happens when a team loses their best overall player, their best defenseman and a quality center?

That was the case for the Penn State men's ice hockey team this past weekend.

The Icers limped into their two- game weekend series against No. 2 Eastern Michigan without Alon Eizenman, last year's ACHA player of the year, Josh Mandel, an ACHA All-American defenseman and Paul Sealock, the Icers' second line center.

The result: Two one-goal losses to a team that is quickly becoming Penn State's biggest rival.

The timeliness of the injuries may have given head coach Joe Battista an even bigger headache. Before Thursday's practice, Battista knew his team would be without Sealock for the rest of the year because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

But Battista then had a live grenade thrown in his lap at the end of that same practice when he was told that Eizenman will miss the next six weeks due to a viral infection, and that Mandel required immediate surgery on his ankle after being hit with a slap shot late in practice.

So not only would the trio miss the huge weekend, but Battista had to make several shift and special team changes without giving the new lines a chance to gel.

"You cannot underestimate the difference that having Mandel and Eizenman out because we were blanked on the power play," he said after Friday's game.

"Those two power play units never played together. . .you could tell. We were out of synch and I think were trying to be too fancy with the puck. When you haven't had time to work, you have to keep things simple."

Although the Icers did net three power play goals in Saturday's game, the power play unit gave up a crucial shorthanded goal that made the game 3-1 in the Eagles favor and the penalty kill unit allowed three power play goals over the course of the weekend.

Freshman forward Glenn Zuck may have summed up the key losses combined with the special teams' woes the best.