It was supposed to be another weekend of two top 15 teams, perennial ACHA National Tournament qualifiers and another set of tough tests for the No. 1 ACHA Div. I Icers (18-0-0).

Now, that is water under the bridge.

Skating in the place of former No. 11 Eastern Michigan University, which was suspended for the remainder of the season earlier in the week due to a Sept. 12 incident its university deemed as hazing, will be Niagara University (10-4-1, 8-0 in ECHL), a team hungry for the "R" word.

"I think they are a team looking for respect," Penn State Icers coach Joe Battista said. "I think that is the reason they wanted these games in the first place."

The Icers have some concerns of their own, mainly dealing with mounting injuries. Defenseman Curtiss Patrick will be out for both games after separating his shoulder, and forward Mike Carrano is suspended for tonight's game after receiving a game disqualification last weekend.

On the positive, forwards Glenn Zuck (concussion) and Garrett Divins (ankle) have been cleared to play, while defenseman Chris Rome (concussion) is likely. Rome's status hinges on his passing an endurance test at last night's practice, the results of which are unknown.

While injuries have clouded the blue line rotation, the goalie position seems to be coming into focus, with junior Scott Blackman at the head of the list. In his last three outings, Blackman has guided the Icers to victories over No. 2 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan-Dearborn and No. 10 Delaware.

"Scotty has opened up a gap based on his coming through in the games that mattered most," Battista said. "Technically he is a solid, skilled goalie."

However, Battista said he plans to continue using the goalie by committee approach, with freshman Chris Matteo and senior Brian Gratz.

Niagara will be led on offense by forward Rick Feroni (19 goals, 14 assists) and have gotten strong goaltending from Nate DeBan.