The Penn State Ice Lions are headed south for spring break. Not far south, but south nonetheless. White sandy beaches and crystal clear water of the Caribbean are no match for the painted ice and scratched boards of a hockey rink. Rest assured if the Ice Lions win a national championship, Maryland would be far better than the Bahamas.

Following a successful two-week period of league tournaments they will begin play in a group of unknowns. Three teams they have not have faced this season at all will be their first tests.

Miami of Ohio (14-6-3) will be the first one to test the Ice Lions. The Red Hawks' 23 games are a lot fewer than most teams.

They tend not to play a lot of games so they don't get banged around a lot and remain healthy for the playoffs. In the last five seasons, they have won their league championship three times.

Colorado State finished seventh in the nation last year. The Rams are led by senior brothers Josh and Jason Bowers. They finished the regular season at 20-5.

Central Michigan finished 13-10-1 at the end of the regular season. A few years ago, Penn State played them and were losing 4-0 to it at one point its game, but came back to tie the game and ended up losing by one goal.

"I think we match up pretty well against them," Ice Lions coach Mo Stroemel said. "I think we are where we need to be and we just need to execute."

Having just come off their game against IUP on Sunday, the Ice Lions have had one day of rest before today's game. Yesterday morning, the Ice Lions practiced at 8:30 to keep the team moving so they don't lose their momentum. During the times the team isn't playing, they will be watching the other games in order learn more about the other six teams they haven't seen play this season.

An advantage for all teams is that penalties won't be called as tight as they had been during league tournaments. It will force the teams to beat each other 5-on-5, something Penn State felt they did well against IUP on Sunday.

Last season Penn State didn't win a game in pool play and the University of Colorado won the Division II National Championship.

--By Dan Graybill