Losing four of its six leading scorers is enough to cause panic for most teams.

But the Penn State men's hockey team hasn't even skipped a beat so far this season with 21 goals in its first three games.

"We don't have the pure goal scorers like in the past," ACHA Div. I Icers coach Joe Battista said.

"But we've got guys that work extremely hard."

Penn State lost Glenn Zuck, Bill Downey and Curtiss Patrick, and Justin DePrestis transferred to Robert Morris. Overall, nearly one-third of last year's national runner-up team is gone.

"There's a lot of young guys, and I'm still trying to figure out everybody's name," Icers co-captain Kevin Jaeger joked at yesterday's media day.

The second line consists of three new faces, but that hasn't prevented the trio from proving it's a force to be reckoned with.

After all, they did score five goals over the weekend.

A lot of that success could even be attributed to the first line, however -- more specifically to senior forward Jaeger who paced Penn State with three goals of his own.

He was all over the ice Friday night against then-No. 9 West Chester, as the Golden Rams were forced to shadow him for the duration of the game.

According to Battista, that certainly helped open the game up for other players.

"The teams were focusing on Jaeger's line and shutting them down. And when teams do that, and what I give Kevin a lot of credit for, is that not only did Kevin's line score six goals but they drew a lot of penalties," he said.

And when Jaeger was able to send the opposition to the penalty box, the Icers took advantage.

In 24 power plays over the weekend, Penn State converted 11 opportunities into goals.

"Kevin's a shifty player, they're hooking him and holding him but he makes things happen," Battista said. "Both teams tried to shadow him, and it really backfired."

The Icers are a different team from last year and have transitioned their playing style from a physical one to a more fast-paced, quick offense as a result of this year's smaller, quicker squad.

They may be a bit smaller, but it's difficult to argue their size has had a negative effect on the team. In their home opener, for instance, Penn State tallied 61 shots on goal.

"We have little guys, but they're all tough," co-captain Brett Wilson said.