The ACHA Div. I Penn State Icers have done nothing but win this season and it has been ugly — for the opposing team.

After outscoring No. 7 Ohio 6-4 in their first two games, the No. 1 Icers remarkably have outscored their opposition 33-3 in their last four contests. This weekend the Icers welcome No. 10 Michigan-Dearborn for a pair of games at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

"They're always big games (against Dearborn). It is such an intense rivalry," head coach Joe Battista said. "It's a whole new ball game this weekend."

The rivalry will take on a new look this year because first year head coach Jon Heady, Sr. is now leading the Wolves. It will present the Icers with some systems they have not seen in the past, but it has not been easy for the Wolves to adjust to Heady's new system either.

"We have played really hard and with a lot of heart," athletic director Peggy Foss said. "Our guys are busy learning the system."

Although Foss admitted that she did not think the team would do anything special this week in preparation for the Icers, Battista is going with a different philosophy.

"We are focusing on getting the puck out of our zone. Dearborn is very aggressive with their fore-checking. They are always physical and fast," Battista said. "We are also working on special teams."

After committing 15 penalties in last Friday's game against Towson, Battista has been talking to the team about penalties, an area that the players feel they are being treated unfairly.

"Our guys think the officials are calling the score and not the action," Battista said. "The other teams are getting away with what we are getting called for. We have to expect not to get the benefit of the doubt all of the time."

"We are getting too feisty," he went on to say. "Teams are pulling out all the stops, but so far it has not worked."

There are two main reasons why it has not worked: the Icers phenomenal penalty killing units, and the two guys who wear the pads between the pipes. Goalies Geoff Beauparlant and Scott Graham have both played exceptional hockey. The fact that they are sharing ice time with each other on a game by game basis does not appear to be affecting the games whatsoever.

The fact that we have to share time is not affecting us at all. We both know our roles, Beauparlant said after his shutout victory last weekend against Towson.

Running into two hot goalies is exactly what the Wolves do not need this weekend, considering the trouble they have had getting the puck into the net.

That's a problem the Icers have not had thus far this season. A potential problem they could have this weekend is overlooking the Wolves and looking towards next weekend's two road contests against No. 2 Delaware. However, Battista said his team is focusing their attention against the Wolves.

The Wolves have proven to be a tough task in the past for the Icers. A number of times before, the Icers came into this weekend unbeaten and have had their first lost handed to them, according to Battista.

This is never an easy weekend for the Icers. They know that they have continue to play the way they have this season in order to improve their record to 7-0-1 and not fall into the Michigan-Dearborn trap which they have fallen into in the past.