A lot of descriptions can be thrown around to describe the No. 4 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers' upcoming showdown with No. 1 Illinois.

Phrases like "grudge match" come to mind. But one thing is for certain, the game will feature an Icers team (17-4-2) riding an 11-game win streak colliding with an Illinois squad (18-2-0) fresh off its first two losses of the season.

The Icers will host the Illini in a two-game series, which starts at 9 tonight and concludes tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

"It doesn't really matter what we've done up until this point," senior defenseman Brendan Martin said. "We've been circling this date on our calendars."

The game will serve as the first time these two elite ACHA teams have met since last year's national championship game, in which the Illini took home the prize, beating Penn State, 4-3. Although Penn State holds a commanding 14-5-1 edge in the all-time series, it is the last game that will be fresh on everyone's mind when the two teams take the ice tonight.

With 13 newcomers taking the ice for Penn State, it is unknown how some of the rookies will handle the pressure of the situation.

"We're going to be doing a great job of reminding the younger guys just exactly what it felt like to watch the other team walk around with the trophy," junior goalie Chris Matteo said. "When you work so hard all year for one goal and you see it disappear in front of your eyes, it's hard to watch."

"It's something that, even though the rookies weren't here, they can most certainly relate to that feeling, because everybody has had something like that happen in their lives."

With the Illini's 4-3 and 4-1 losses to No. 2 Ohio last weekend, the Icers have a chance to make a move up in the ACHA rankings if they can continue their winning ways. Icers coach Joe Battista said that the team's success up to this point has contributed to the big-game atmosphere surrounding this weekend.

"Ohio did us a favor by beating Illinois twice, now we have to take care of business," Battista said. "I could try to describe to somebody what it feels like to be in these kind of games, but until they're out there -- you just have to experience it. I don't want them too fired up, but I don't want them scared either."

The situation is much the same for the visiting team, which has had to utilize its share of new players as well, according to coach Chad Cassel.

Now Illinois must rebound from its first two losses of the season -- losses that came in games in which Cassel thought his team might have outplayed, and definitely outshot, its opponents. However, the same sense of excitement felt in the Penn State locker room is also surrounding the upcoming games for the Illini as well.

"It's tough, coming off two losses and going on the road to a place where we haven't had much success," Cassel said. "Historically State College has been a tough place for us to win."

For the Icers to protect that hostile environment, they will need to tighten up defensively. The team has been finding ways to win even while giving up 12 goals in its last three games, but Battista knows that a wide-open type game will favor his opponents.

"You're not going to win a lot of championships doing that," he said.

The playoff-type atmosphere will be evident for every player stepping on to the ice this weekend. With that in mind, the outcome might come down to which team's young players can handle the importance of the games the best.

"If they don't realize it by the time the puck drops, they'll realize it by the end of the first period -- I'm sure," Martin said.