ICERS

As the No. 1 Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers (16-0) travel to Indiana University to compete in the Big Ten Tournament, the memory of their devastating loss to Indiana two years ago still lingers.

"We cannot look past Indiana," Penn State Icers coach Joe Battista said. "[The loss two years ago] was probably the biggest upset since I've been at Penn State."

That loss gave the Icers first hand experience to the fact that no team can be overlooked, and that Penn State needs to take Indiana (4-5-3) seriously.

"I'm concerned about being over confident," Battista said.

"They're very capable of pulling off an upset."

So while the majority of Penn State students are home enjoying their Thanksgiving break, the Icers will be hard at work in Indiana, at the Big Ten Tournament.

The possibility of the Icers playing No. 2 Illinois (11-2-1) in the championship game also makes this a much-anticipated weekend.

The last Big Ten Tournament saw these two top-ranked teams meet, but that was in the consolation game, not the championship.

Penn State's tough games recently have been good preparation for this weekend's tournament.

Although the wins may not have come as easily as the team is acustom to, the Icers continued to persevere and came away with four wins and a still perfect season.

"The last two weekends have served as a real wake up call," Battista said. "We needed that."

Illinois will begin their weekend against Ohio State (6-3-1) Friday night before Penn State takes the ice against Indiana.

Both the consolation and championship games of the tournament will be held on Saturday.

-- By J.W. Palmer