At one end of the ice, a hard wrist shot from defenseman Joe Maglaque bulges the twine while at the other end, goalie Chris Matteo skates out of his crease making a small circle to the right of his net.

These two images in this weekend's games could soon be a familiar sight for fans of the No. 1 Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers (5-0-0) as Maglaque and Matteo look to fill the defensive void left with the departure of Scott Graham and Josh Mandel.

Matteo's play this weekend against rival Ohio University (4-5-0) showed his readiness to step up and take on the pressures of being the No. 1 goalie.

"I give him an A for the weekend," Penn State head coach Joe Battista said. "What I love about him is he takes responsibility. You have to love his work ethic, his attitude, it gives him an edge."

In his opening period at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, Matteo looked a little shaky, giving up an early goal from the point. But after that first goal, he seemed to settle down, making both the routine and spectacular saves alike. He finished the weekend with 58 saves on 64 shots.

Understanding the importance of the players in front of him, Matteo gave his defense a lot of the credit for the Icers' two wins.

"I thought the D played well, they got rid of most of my rebounds," he said. "A lot of goalies have the feeling they play as well as their defense."

If that's the case, Matteo is in good shape with junior transfer Maglaque patrolling the blue line for the Icers team.

Maglaque transferred from Fairfield University in the off season. Early into the season his presence can already be felt on the ice.

"Coach told me just to play my game," Maglaque said. "I didn't feel any pressure and adjusting to the new system was easy."

When he wasn't rubbing Bobcats out along the boards, Maglaque was jumping up on the rush and helping out the offense. He finished the weekend with two goals and an assist.

Battista called his goal Friday night "a back breaker." Maglaque saw a 2 on 1 developing and joined defensive partner Curtiss Patrick up ice where he received a perfect centering pass and roofed it, making the score 4-1.

Once he starts throwing his body around, Maglaque is capable of changing the momentum of a game.

"The physical game is my bread and butter," he said.

"I mean, it sets a tone for the rest of the team."

With the additions of Matteo and Maglaque, the Icers have to feel confident their defensive success will continue.