Stepping off the bus, he instinctively heads over to the concession stand -- but not to eat. He just had some chicken and Spanish rice during his trip to the rink.

He remembers that because it's the only thing he's eaten all day.

Cradling his brown-leather folder, he continues his mini-journey to the concession stand -- stopping along the way to speak with fans and colleagues.

He's head coach Joe Battista. And he's in the midst of finding his "normal spot" in front of the food stand, where he continues to shoot the breeze.

He's simply attempting to kill 90 minutes before the most important game of the season -- the ACHA National Championship Tournament semifinal vs. Ohio.

*****

At 11 a.m., it's a different story.

Battista is able to maintain his composure, but it's clear the work is taking a toll on him.

Last night's half-eaten Italian dish remains on the table. And the breakfast tray -- three cherry danishes, one bagel, two bananas, an apple and an assortment of muffins -- is still untouched.

Battista is fine-tuning the scouting report on his sleek IBM Thinkpad. And assistant coach Chris Schmale is on the floor, his gaze fixed to the television screen, where he's busily constructing a game tape.

Meanwhile, the players are still sleeping.

Three hours left.

*****

"Downstairs. Five minutes. Blue warm-ups and running shoes."

Another assistant coach, Mo Stroemel, takes care of calling up each player's room.

While Stroemel does the tedious work, though, Battista is still concentrating on his word file.

But he quickly notices one thing's missing.

"Where's the Baksh report?" he asks.

No one has an answer because the report on Ohio goalie Ryan Baksh still isn't complete -- and Penn State goalie coach Darren Hersh is nowhere to be seen.

Nervously tapping his fingers on the desk, Battista immediately calls up Hersh.

"Get your butt back here, man. I need a Baksh report right away," he says in a forceful manner.

Two-and-a-half hours left.

Battista appears much more relaxed now. He even begins to joke a bit.

"Where'd you guys learn how to spell 'weakside?' " he says, laughing after reading "weekside" in one of the scouting reports.

"It's just a typo," Schmale says.

"Then why's it spelled like that everywhere? I already fixed four," he says, grinning.

Schmale struggles for a reply but just adds he "knows how it's spelled."

Battista exits the room to print out the corrected material, leaving Schmale to himself.

"It's amazing how everything you do for an entire season, from a hockey standpoint, comes down to two days," he reflects.

"A Saturday and a Sunday in March."

One hour left

*****

"Sleep is at a premium during the national championship," Schmale continues.

The five-year assistant coach says he fell asleep around 2 a.m. and woke up a little over four hours later.

The same went for Battista.

It's almost 1:15 p.m. and Battista is only now the bedroom getting dressed.

Battista keeps saying revenge is not a factor -- even though Ohio beat Penn State in the championship game last season.

"We're only focused on today. OU's a different team, and we're a different team," Battista says.

When Battista steps out of the bedroom, though, he's in dark slacks and an undershirt.

The undershirt reads, "We OU 1."

"Just getting my armor ready," Battista says with a laugh.

Five minutes later, Battista heads out the door for the mandatory team meeting.

The preparation and scouting reports are finally complete.

"Time to win."

30 minutes left

*****

Now comes the tricky part.

The coaching staff has to condense all the tendencies and nuances it has learned over the span of 10 hours into a 25-minute presentation.

Battista utilizes a white sheet as a projector screen -- a tip, he says, he picked up from basketball coach Ed DeChellis.

"Don't try to stickhandle with their defense," his voice booms. "But swerve and fire the puck right by them because, again, [their goalie] sits back in the net to begin with. He goes down early."

It's difficult to tell whether or not some players are listening. So, Battista summarizes the report in a way that grabs all the players' attention.

"Viagara shots," Battista continues. "Get 'em up."

Battista's advice is met with some scattered -- albeit muffled -- laughter.

But the biggest response comes when Schmale shows the Ohio game tape. The tape was from earlier, when Hersh discovered one of Baksh's main weaknesses in the Mercyhurst game.

"This is what we were talking about guys," Battista says. "See -- he wasn't ready."

The tape immediately catches the Icers' eyes. Any heads that were down instantly spring upward and the players begin to clamor.

Gametime

*****

Finally.

After hours upon hours of tireless work, the game plan has been formulated, analyzed and explained.

Now it's ready to be executed.

For the most part, the game is a back-and-forth affair. Ohio strikes first, but the Icers respond with a goal in the second period.

With less than two minutes remaining in the game, though, the score is still deadlocked at 1-1.

Battista sends in the gold line, on which he placed forward Arcobello. After a whistle, the Icers line up in Ohio's territory for a faceoff.

Luc Walker quickly wins it, and passes it back to Arcobello.

Arcobello winds up and lets the puck go.

It's a goal -- the puck finds the top-right corner.

Battista embraces Stroemel; the Icers pile on top of one another, and the crowd erupts in a frenzy.

Kevin Jaeger would later score an empty-net goal to seal the 3-1 win.

"It had so much drama in it," Battista says, a slight crack in his voice. "But it came down to who wanted it more."

Staring back at his tear-filled eyes, it's easy to tell just how much Battista did want it.

This was a day like most during the season. Battista put his time, trust and effort -- his life -- into assuring that the Icers made their eighth straight national championship appearance.

Just an average day in the life of Penn State ACHA Division I Icers coach Joe Battista.