Penn State men's ice hockey coach Joe Battista put it best when he said Penn State has had Arizona's number recently.

In eight recent meetings of the two teams, the Icers have come out on top seven times. That includes two games — in 1998 and 1999 — the Icers knocked the Icecats out of the ACHA tournament.

But, with the power of the home crowd behind them this time, the tides might turn in favor of No. 7 Arizona (28-2-1) as the team takes on No. 2 Penn State (24-4-2) at 9:30 EST tomorrow on Arizona's home ice.

"We're playing them in their building on a Saturday evening in front of 7,000 of their home fans," Penn State forward Greg Held said. "That's going to be a pretty big obstacle to get around."

With the screaming fans and the blare of the rink's organ, Battista said he is worried the atmosphere inside the Tucson Convention Center might be a distraction for his team. But it hasn't posed much of a problem in the past.

During the 1998-99 season, Penn State traveled to Arizona for a pair of games and came out with two wins against the Icecats.

Road wins haven't been much of a problem for the Icers, who hold a 11-2 road record, including wins against No. 1 Eastern Michigan and No. 4 Ohio — teams Penn State is like to face later in the tournament.

Although the Icers have a solid road record in their favor, fate might not be on their side. The Icers' rivalry with Arizona began in 1984 when they defeated Arizona to win the ACHA Title. A year later Arizona returned the favor.

The last time these two teams met in a playoff game was during the 1999 ACHA Tournament when Penn State, then the No. 2 seed, knocked No. 6-seed Arizona out of the tournament with a 4-1 victory. And, until now, the Icecats haven't had the opportunity for revenge.

Arizona has all the weapons to pull off the upset, and their names are Marc Harris, Paul Dorn and Mike Graves.

The three forwards make up the ACHA's most successful offensive line, as they have combined for 85 goals in this season alone.

The bad news for the Icers is that those 85 goals are just 28 percent of Arizona's 309 goals this season.

"From past experiences we know they're a very offensive-minded team," Icers goaltender Geoff Beauparlant said. "But I think as long as we come to play and play as a team we'll be fine."

Should Penn State make it past Arizona, the team will advance to the tournament semi-finals and play the winner of Pool C — Minot State, Illinois and Towson. That game will be held Sunday at 9:30 EST.

Minot State, No. 3 in the tournament, is Penn State's most likely opponent, which Held said is fine by him.

Held got to meet Minot State's coach Brian Wilkie on a recent trip to Poland for the World University Games and said he'd like to meet Wilkie again in the tournament.

Should the Icers defeat Minot State, they will advance to the title game on Monday at 9:30 EST. Their opponent is likely to be either Eastern Michigan or Ohio — the highest seeds in their respective pools.

Minot State and Eastern Michigan would, no doubt, be more than happy to face the Icers again as Penn State knocked both teams out of the tournament last season en route to the championship. And the Icers are well aware of that.

"We're definitely the team with the bull's eye on our back," senior forward Mike Blevins said. "They'll be looking for revenge and we know that. We just have to be more determined than they are."