The plan was to get away from the game of hockey for at least a week. You know, spend some quality time with the family and stuff your face until implosion is on the verge. But more importantly: get healthy.

That's what Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers' forward Kevin Jaeger thought he did, up until he attempted to take his first stride on the ice in about a week, only to find out he couldn't skate. Jaeger aggravated his left ankle in the team's last practice before Thanksgiving. At the time, he brushed it off, hoping it would heal by the next practice. Beside, it didn't affect his normal walk. "I'll find a way to play Friday, trust me," Jaeger said at Tuesday's practice.

That's good news for the Icers, mainly because, unlike recent years, winning isn't guaranteed anymore.

Blame it on parity.

A few weeks back the Icers suffered a shocker of a loss at the hands of Michigan-Dearborn by a score of 4-2 in front of their home-crowd on Nov. 13. This came only one day after the Icers handily beat the Wolves, 9-2. At the time, it seemed embarrassing to dismantle a team by seven goals one night and practically not even show up the very next day. Lately, though, that loss doesn't seem so surprising.

That same No. 14 Michigan-Dearborn team recently upset the No. 1 Rhode Island Rams. Go figure. Rhode Island is ranked No. 1 for the first time in its ACHA history, and the Rams are already the third team to hold the No. 1 ranking this season.

"All of a sudden our loss to Michigan-Dearborn doesn't look quite as bad as it did before," Icers coach Joe Battista said.

It could be that the Icers just aren't the same intimidating team they've grown accustomed to being in the past.

"We've kind of come back to the pack, we're not as dominant a team as we've been the past couple of years," Battista said. "This is really a rebuilding year for us."

One could fathom how easy it is to forget that familiar names like Zuck, Downey and Depretis -- three of the top five scorers from last year -- are no longer with the team. So, in essence, a record like 12-2-1 isn't so bad after all. But the Icers can ill-afford to play without their top goal-scorer, Jaeger.

There is no clear-cut headliner in the ACHA this season; for whatever reason, the Icers haven't been able to separate themselves from the rest of the competition. One of their netminders has a hunch, though.

"The biggest thing for this team to do is to distinguish itself as a team that's going to beat up on the teams that [they're supposed to] and handily beat up on the teams that they shouldn't," goaltender Chris Matteo said.

Or maybe they need to trust each other more.

Of late, Battista has put great emphasis on sharing the puck more: moving it up the ice faster, putting opposing defensemen in a position to commit to one area of the ice, which, as a result, will increase scoring chances.

Aside from Jaeger, the Icers aren't blessed with too many players -- like they have been in the past -- who can maneuver through defenses easily and effectively.

Battista's job is to get his team to buy into the total-team effort it takes to win consistently in the league.

The Icers next opponent is Saint Clair College, a team Penn State swept in mid-October.

But since that weekend, Saint Clair has lost only one game and looks like a different team. Battista knows that the Icers team doesn't stand a chance if it continues to play the same way.

"We've have too many guys that think they have to do it themselves, the puck always travels faster than any individual. ... Until we quit trying to play one-on-one hockey, we're never going to be as good as we can be," Battista said.

And if they ever do learn to trust better, the ACHA is theirs for the taking.