The scene at practice summed up the past couple of weeks for the Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers.

There was sophomore forward Dan McKeen, stretched out on his back at the top of the Greenberg Ice Pavilion stands. McKeen wasn't practicing with the rest of the Icers because of a bum hamstring.

He isn't even half the story and to be frank about it, the team is banged up.

But everyone wasn't given the free pass to watch practice from the stands, though.

On ice, wearing the red-cross jersey, which symbolizes you'd better not lay a hand on me or your in trouble, was top line centerman and the team's second leading goal-scorer, Mike Carrano. He, along with co-captain Eric Harbaugh toughed it out during Tuesday's practice after they both missed considerable action this past weekend when the Icers split a two-game set with Michigan-Dearborn.

But at least they're still playing.

Already lost for the season are defenseman Chris Rome and forward Greg Schwind. Rome, tore his MCL in early October because of a nasty knee-to-knee collision, has been doing some light skating with the team of late but the senior's return to action is a longshot. Icer's coach Joe Battista said if Rome has any chance of returning, it'll be during the spring semester.

Schwind, well, let's just say his projection wasn't as encouraging as Rome's. The Icers third leading goal-scorer broke his leg in five places two weekends ago against Rhode Island and it's a safe bet to say he's done for the rest of the season.

"Losing a guy like Greg Schwind for the season, that's gonna hurt, but we've got guys who have stepped into that role and filled his shoes to the best of their ability," junior forward Brett Wilson said.

And with the team struggling to find consistency throughout its four lines, the team will be forced to get back to the basics. Defense.

The Icers have deceived themselves so far this season by averaging six goals a game. There's no doubt that they're as aggressive as any team in the ACHA, but the aggression administered on the offensive side has put the transition defense in a vulnerable position -- and the goaltender in particular. Three of the four goals given up by Paul Mammola in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Michigan-Dearborn were the result of odd-man rushes. Battista wants his team to be aggressive, just not at the cost of rendering goals.

"It's the [difference between] a defensive back going for an interception or knocking the pass down," Battista said. "Sometimes when you gamble, it pays off but it's a high-risk, high-reward kind of thing."

And from now on, the Icers will looking to defend first, and score second -- evident by the way they've been practicing this week.

Battista, a former defensman himself, had the Icers performing intense angling, checking and hitting drills this week in practice.

"I know it took a lot out of them," Battista said.

But it's apparent that these drills are needed. Battista told the Icers about the team's he coached back in 1990 and 2000 that fails, offensively, in comparison to this year's team but were able to win National Championships because of dedication to defense and secure goaltending.

Besides, it's a different ACHA league this year. Beating a team badly the night before doesn't ensure a win the very next day -- just ask the Icers. On film they dominated Michigan-Dearborn both days, but the weekend ended with a win and a loss.

"We are re-emphasizing defense first and we kind of got away from that," Battista said.

Spoken like a true defenseman.