The majority of the Penn State ACHA Div. I Icers have spent more time filling the whirlpools and licking their wounds this season than actual time on the ice.

A historian would say they'd be feeling a lot better after their last game of the semester tonight at 9 when they welcome unranked West Virginia to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion. Here's why : the two teams have played 26 times all together. The Icers have beaten the Mountaineers in 25 of those games and the lone tie came way back in February of 1996.

With one game left before Christmas vacation, Icers coach Joe Battista reflects on his team's performance thus far.

"Given the injuries that we've had to deal with, we're about where we should be," Battista said.

The Icers are 12-3-2 and ranked No. 2 in the ACHA. Only a cynic would point out that the team has its most losses (3) before the break since 2000. An optimist would make the claim that they did, indeed, go on to win the ACHA Championship that same season.

So with 17 games in the books this season, things could conceivably be a lot worse.

The Icers were flawless in October, winning by an average of five goals during the month. They ended the month with two emotional wins over rival, Ohio.

Shortly after, the team suffered from immense injuries. Gone for the season with a broken leg is junior forward Greg Schwind. And the latest to join the list has been sophomore goaltender, Chris Matteo. He injured his calf and hamstring in last Friday's home loss to Saint Clair College, which forced Battista to call-up Scott Blackman who'd been playing with the Div. II Ice Lions.

But one constant for the team, which could be attributed to the mindset of the coach, is that everytime the Icers have lost this season, they've responded with lights-out defense the next day.

The first loss came at the hands of No. 1-ranked Rhode Island, 4-2 back on Nov.5. Paul Mammola responded with his first shutout as an Icer the next game, which ended in a scoreless tie.

"Everytime we've lost, we've rebounded with our best defensive performances of the year," Battista said.

"So what it tells me is that this team understands and is capable of playing championship-caliber defense but we need to fix our attitudes and figure out a way to generate more offense without giving up our defensive priorities," he said.

And they'll have to learn quickly.

After tonight's game, the Icers will be without the services of their points leader, Kevin Jaeger, and senior defensman Eric Harbaugh and Joe Maglaque as the trio will represent Team USA at the World University Games in Innsbruck, Austria from Jan. 7-23.

During that stretch, the team will travel to Ohio for two games and host Rhode Island for two at the Pavilion, something that Battista welcomes.

"To a certain extent, the timing is outstanding because we're going to have to get better defensively . . . it's going to force us to adapt our game," Battista said.