The Penn State ACHA Div. II Ice Lions will travel west tonight to challenge the Colonials of Robert Morris College at the Island Sports Center. The opening face off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in what should be an exciting match-up.

The Colonials (9-1-1) are currently ranked No. 1 in the east region of the latest AHCA Div. III ice hockey rankings. The Ice Lions (7-8) rebounded from a five-game losing streak last weekend with dominating victories over Marist and William and Paterson College.

"I think they know now that if they put together a 60 minute game, we could beat anybody," Ice Lions head coach Mo Stroemel said.

The Lions will be playing without center and assistant captain Mark Jenkins tonight, but he will be back in the line-up when the Lions host the Pitt Panthers at the Greenberg Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.

"Jenkins can't go with us Friday, so we're going to shuffle a couple things around and see what happens," Stroemel said.

Defensively, Brian Gratz will get the starting nod in goal for the Lions on Friday and Saturday. In his last start, Gratz posted a shut out in the Lions 3-0 victory over Marist.

The Ice Lions have not faced Robert Morris yet this year, but they know that the Colonials pose a formidable threat. Ice Lions forward Tim Cavanah played against Robert Morris in the past before he joined the Penn State Div. II team this year.

"They're a pretty good team. We definitely can't underestimate them," Cavanah said.

On Saturday, the Lions will return home to square off against Pitt with the opening face off slated for 3:15 p.m. The Lions defeated Pitt earlier this season by a score of 6-2. The Panthers (5-9) have been struggling as of late by losing their last five games in a row.

Both games this weekend are important to the Ice Lions season, as they head into the winter break. They are currently ranked ninth in the ACHA Div. II northeast conference. The Lions need to crack the top five in order to gain a bid to the national tournament at the end of February.

"What it all comes down too is that we've got to play our own game," Ice Lions forward Eric Ritter said. "If we can do that, we should have no problem."