It's fitting that the home of the "Freak Nic," the world's craziest dance party, and the "dirty bird" will also hold another big dance this weekend.

In a season that has seen greatness and glory, rough ends and sad stories, the Penn State Lady Icers' journey will come to a close this weekend when they bring their 19-6-1 record to Atlanta to take on the nation's finest club teams tomorrow at the national tournament.

"Nationals is the best teams in the nation," assistant captain Lauren Shaw said.

"I look for ever player to step up their game."

In last year's field of eight, an inexperienced Lady Icers team learned the life of playoff hockey when they were dismantled en route to an eighth place showing.

"We lost our first game and didn't look past that," Shaw said. "It's one game at a time in Atlanta."

The Lady Icers not only have a stronger team on the ice this season, but the team has grown considerably away from the rink as well.

Penn State has united a variety of individual personalities into one strong family with a special charisma during the season.

"Things started to fall apart before we even arrived in St. Louis (last year's host)," captain Jen McDevitt said. "There was a lot of screaming on the bench.

"A lot of tension between coaches and coaches, coaches and players. We were a bunch of players in similar jerseys.... This year our unity, our sense of team, is paramount."

Such chemistry will be essential if the Lady Icers hope to overcome the talent they'll see in Atlanta.

Penn State's bracket alone consists of powerhouses Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Bates.

The Lady Icers will play a round robin within their bracket, with the winner moving on to the championship game.

The other bracket will consist of defending champion St. Cloud, Colorado, Michigan and Boston University.

Keys for the Lady Icers will be defense and goaltending.

Last time the Lady Icers took the ice they surrendered a 3-0 lead to the Erie Lady Lions before falling 6-5 at home on senior day.

The problem of clearing the puck effectively was exposed throughout that contest.

"We need to be at the top of our defensive game at all times," Shaw said.

"Defense first."

Defender Stephanie Feyock, one of the team's strongest skaters, could be a weapon skating the full ice for Penn State.

Captain Jen McDevitt took over for injured goalie Jessica Gurskey in November.

With no real prior experience McDevitt has begun to show signs of growth in net.

"Mentally, I'm actually starting to buy into myself," McDevitt said.

The Lady Icers can count on the superior talent of senior captain Andrea Lavelle.

Lavelle, the team's unprecedented leader in goals will be playing her final contests as a Lady Icer. Lavelle usually carries the bulk of the scoring, but there are a number of established options around her.

Lavelle's first line mates freshmen Katie King and sophomore Alex McVicker are both viable scoring options as they bring a young savvy and toughness to the table.

The second line of Shaw, Kate Specchio and Jenna Lichtenwalner must cash in as well for the Lady Icers to be successful.

"On raw talent, we have everyone beat," Shaw said. "It's just a matter of using it efficiently."

Said McVicker: "We're going to rock them at nationals."