Walking to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion on a given Friday night, my fellow Icers beat writer and I begin to talk about the impending game and the team who is unfortunate enough to step onto the same ice as the No. 1 Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers.

Our conversation usually winds down as we joke about whether or not the Icers will out score the Nittany Lions in Saturday's football game. (Don't laugh. It has happened this season.)

Entering the building, we've come to expect an easy Icers' win. Although there's never a guaranteed victory, the dominance of the Icers may lead some to ask: why bother to show up at all?

That reason is simple: to watch the carousel that is the goaltending of the Penn State Icers. We never know which goalie we'll see in net for the Icers until we peer down through the protective netting and watch the goalie lead Penn State onto the ice.

Penn State head coach Joe Battista has been using a goalie-by-committee approach this season, rotating senior Brian Gratz, junior Scott Blackman and freshman Chris Matteo. Only once this season has the same goalie been between the pipes two games in a row.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason to his decision-making process, other than their play during practice that week. But how much can you learn in four days of practice?

Granted, it's hard to argue with Battista's coaching methods as the Icers go for their fifth consecutive ACHA National Championship this season, but let's look at how he did it in past years.

During last year's championship season, Scott Graham carried the load. He started 30 of a possible 44 games for the Icers, winning 25 games and moving into second on the single-season wins list for the Icers.

Previous seasons have seen Penn State goalies split time but it usually ends up with two goalies getting ice time, not three.

This season is different. Instead of riding one goalie, or even two, Battista is spreading the load out between the three and, until this past weekend, this goalie situation had been working.

Ignoring the fact that Penn State was riding a 12-game winning streak in which they averaged only two goals against per game, Delaware showed the Icers they could be on thin ice should their offense dry up.

Despite receiving a second chance at a perfect season after it was ruled Delaware had used an ineligible player, the fact remains the Icers gave up seven goals in a game they know should be in the loss column.

The shaky play of both Matteo and Gratz Friday night combined with the outstanding performance by Blackman in a 2-0 win Saturday, has brought the goalie situation back into question.

Without any consistent playing time, the team never knows what kind of performance to expect from the chosen net-minder on a given night. The defense is also unable to develop much-needed on-ice chemistry with their goalie.

Battista is constantly preaching the importance of defense in winning championships. But the cornerstone of a solid defense in hockey is the ability of the player between the pipes. This is obvious when looking at any championship hockey team.

Whether it's Gratz, Blackman or Matteo, a decision needs to be made if the Icers hope to hang a fifth consecutive banner from the rafters of the Ice Pavilion.

But then again, without this goalie uncertainty, I probably wouldn't be able to find a reason to leave my apartment.