People tend to fear what they don't know or understand, but should the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers have anything to fear from a team from Missouri?

While little is known about it, No. 7 Lindenwood (7-5-0) will be coming into Happy Valley looking to make an impact against the No. 4 Icers (7-4-2) at 9 tonight and then again at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.

"I don't think anybody should let the name of the school fool them, because they're from a talent-rich area," Icers head coach Joe Battista said.

Battista noted that Lindenwood, whom the Icers have never faced before in their history, finished fifth in the ACHA last season, losing to then-defending national champion Illinois, 3-1. The Icers coach also confessed that he cannot even watch film of this weekend's opponents and must rely heavily on not much more than the score sheets.

The Lindenwood Lions have been on a tear as of late as well, winning six of their last eight games, which will add to the Icers' discomfort while facing an unknown opponent.

However, the Icers might not have to do much more than look in the mirror to prepare for the weekend.

"They're kind of like us this year; they're playing well enough to win games, but they're playing just poorly enough to lose some games, too," Battista said.

"They're 7-5; we're 7-4. These are big games for both teams."

Like last weekend against No. 3 Ohio, and the week before against No. 2 Rhode Island, Penn State should be in for a tough, physical war between teams in the upper echelon of the ACHA.

"They're very aggressive, they'll check hard, they're physical, they're willing to take a few penalties to play more assertive," Battista said.

"So we can't retaliate -- we have to be disciplined."

As always against a top team, the Icers must be focused on their defensive coverages and systems in their own zone, something especially relevant now that the wear and tear of their tough schedule is starting to have an affect on Battista's lineups.

Senior defenseman and assistant captain Brendan Martin noted that an injury to fellow defenseman Matt Wallace will mean more focus on the defensive zones, especially while getting used to some new pairings.

Also with all the possible scratches because of players being hurt, as well as some illness, the lineups could be a bit mix-and-matched, according to Battista. As an assistant captain, forward Teague Willits-Kelley and the rest of the senior leaders must show the younger guy how to step into this kind of situation and perform.

"We've got to talk to some younger guys that might be jumped up to lines they wouldn't have been on, or guys that are brought in to a different role," Willits-Kelley said. "We might need someone that's used to being on a goal-scoring line to be on a defensive line."