"Welcome back to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, where your Penn State ACHA Division I Icers have just been awarded a penalty after freshman scoring sensation Luke DeLorenzo was hauled down in the offensive zone.

The Icers are 1-for-3 on the power play tonight and have been generating some great scoring chances. Let's see what they can do with the man advantage this time. The faceoff will be in the neutral zone..."

Few outside the hockey world would understand the dramatically different ways that players end up on collegiate teams. The process is not like most sports, where athletes play up to four years in high school and then head off to college. Each player on the Icers' squad has his own, unique story about how he ended up on the team.

The No. 1 power play unit for the Icers gives a nice cross section of many different paths taken by players looking to play college hockey. Whether they come by way of preparatory school, junior hockey or straight out of high school, the Icers must come together as a team, working together despite the different routes they took.

This holds especially true for the team's top five scorers -- forwards DeLorenzo, Mike McMullen, Frank Berry and Nate Obringer, along with defenseman Keith Jordan -- who man the team's top power play unit.

"DeLorenzo to take the draw ... wins it ... the puck squirts over to Berry.

Berry with it now along the boards, through the neutral zone ... and Oh! He dekes the defenseman out of his skates! Now with it into the offensive zone..."

Berry, a first-year player, is not your typical wet-behind-the-ears freshman. The Icers' third-leading scorer spent an extra year in high school in order to come to college more prepared. That high school is a bit different from an average Penn State student's alma mater, though. Berry attended The Hill School, a preparatory school in Pottstown, for three years.

Entering The Hill School after his sophomore year, Berry repeated that grade, allowing him to spend a fifth year in school. He would end up using that extra year to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during his junior year.

"I wanted to play better hockey, but I wanted to keep an education as well," Berry said. "If I look back at it now, I don't think I was ready to make the jump, hockey-wise. I don't think I would have been as ready in four years."

Why then would someone choose to pay tuition for prep school, especially an extra year, when many public schools offer hockey programs?

Sophomore forward Paul Zodtner, a teammate of Berry's at The Hill School, made his decision to go the prep school route because of the level of competition.

"High school hockey in Pennsylvania is not that good, especially public schools," Zodtner said. "You either have to go away to a Massachusetts school or a prep school that plays Massachusetts schools.

"There's only about two teams or so that are any good in Pennsylvania. So you have to go away to play at a high level."

Icers head coach Joe Battista said prep-school teams play about 25-30 games a year, with practice every day. That kind of system, he said, is more academically oriented and is set up almost identically to the Icers program.

With the mix of hockey and education, prep school was a perfect way for a player like senior forward Luc Walker to prepare for life at the next level.

Walker attended Phillips Exeter Preparatory School in New Hampshire for just one postgraduate year after finishing high school at home in Maine.

"It's weird, around here people are like ah, prep school," Walker said. "Not saying I did it just for hockey, I did it for academics too, because I wouldn't be able to get in here if it wasn't for that."

Walker, like Zodtner and Berry, took the prep school route while entertaining ideas of playing college hockey. All three were looking at mixtures of Division I and III schools for the most part, but all three ended up here at Penn State.

Berry said he found in his search that most of the varsity programs already had a lineup set, but Battista took a chance on him.

"Berry with the puck now, at the top of the circle ... dumps into the corner. McMullen is there ... battles for the puck..."

McMullen was another player that Battista was willing to give a shot on his squad. His circumstances were a bit different, however.

After playing his high school hockey at Malvern Prep, near Philadelphia, McMullen tried his luck with the top of the collegiate hockey world. Looking at Div. I schools in the Northeast, McMullen landed a spot at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

"Fairfield worked out and I already had an academic scholarship there, and I knew the coach, so it was a good situation -- at least I thought it was," McMullen said.

As it turned out, after getting limited playing time in his freshman year, Fairfield's hockey program disbanded. McMullen was left out to dry with limited exposure in the Div. I ranks, making it hard for him to seek another scholarship.

As many of his friends and teammates were transferring to other Div. I schools, McMullen, only 19 back then, decided he had time to figure out where to go next. He took the path that many of his eventual teammates on the Icers would -- entering the world of junior hockey.

It was there that McMullen met a teammate who would have a huge influence on his journey to Penn State.

"McMullen wins possession ... stickhandles ... looks toward the net ... now drops it back to the point to Jordan..."

Jordan, who attended State College Area High School for three years, traveled all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to play junior A hockey during his senior year. After finishing high school in Canada and playing one year for the Winnipeg SouthBlues, Jordan moved back to the U.S. He first played a year in a lower, junior B league for the Columbus Crush before making his way to Youngstown, Ohio.

"Originally I went away to play juniors because I wanted to see if I could develop any interest from some of the Div. I schools -- to see if I could get any looks," Jordan said. "It was a really good idea because allowed me to mature a lot more."

While playing for the Junior A Phantoms in Youngstown, Jordan roomed with McMullen, who had decided to play juniors while exploring other options for playing at the collegiate level.

"I knew about Penn State because my brother played here before," Jordan said. "I was really interested in coming here and then I talked to McMullen about it, and he became interested."

After a year in Youngstown, the roommates decided to come play for Battista and the Icers for the 2004-2005 season -- the same time another Div. I transfer came to Happy Valley.

Senior goaltender Paul Mammola spent two years in his home state, playing at Div. I University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Before that, Battista had recruited Mammola while he played junior B's in Johnstown.

"I come out of the locker room and see this guy with a mustache; he wants me to come to Penn State," Mammola said.

He had to decline the offer to Penn State because he had already committed to Lowell.

After playing two years at the Div. I level, Mammola parted ways with his Div. I team and wondered if the opening at Penn State still held. He contacted his former coach from the Boston Bulldogs for advice. He was urged to take a visit to see Penn State firsthand.

After a visit to Penn State, Mammola made the same decision as McMullen and Jordan had that same year.

"When I came down I was just blown away; this is where I wanted to go to college," Mammola said.

While Jordan, Mammola and McMullen all had some sort of experience in junior hockey, another player on the Icers' power play unit had a nearly textbook journey through junior A hockey before playing at Penn State.

"Jordan with possession ... pulls back for a shot ... fakes the slapshot ... the defenseman is down to block ... Jordan sidesteps ... rips a low wrister on net...

Save made ... .big rebound kicked out to the right of the goalie ... DeLorenzo steps in..."

Taking a few years off from school to play junior hockey is commonplace for many collegiate level players. For a 20-year-old freshman like DeLorenzo, this is the path he chose.

There are many different ways to traverse the junior hockey ranks, with different levels of competition. Tier I leagues in America and Canada are used by players looking for a fast track to playing professionally, Battista said.

However, for the Icers, the bulk of their junior players come from junior A leagues such as the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in the Midwest, where DeLorenzo played for two years.

Typically, a player can be drafted by a junior team at 16 and can play until he is 21. The leagues are very competitive and very hockey oriented, with teams playing upward of 60 games in a season.

DeLorenzo said he had a chance to go right to a varsity hockey program after high school, but decided to play a few years in junior A, to help him with his transition to college hockey.

"I had played hockey all my life, and I didn't want to waste all that hard work," he said.

After being drafted by the Toledo Ice Diggers and spending a season with them, DeLorenzo asked for a trade. He ended up at the Cleveland Barons, also in the NAHL.

It was then that the Icers began to court the gifted offensive player. DeLorenzo was a little standoffish during the recruiting phase, Battista said, but never turned his back on the offer. After taking a visit, he decided on Penn State, passing up on a final year of eligibility in juniors.

"I'm still stunned that a Div. I NCAA team won't take a chance on a kid with that kind of talent," Battista said of DeLorenzo slipping through the cracks of the Div. I teams.

DeLorenzo is not the only player to come in as 20 or 21-year-old freshmen. Assistant captain Teague Willits-Kelley played his full term in juniors in Canada, which suited his hard-nosed style of play. Coming in as a 21-year-old gave him a great edge in experience and maturity, Battista said.

Andrew Magulick, a State College native, also used juniors to mature, but for him it was more a question of maturing physically. Although Magulick is one of the Icers' largest players at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, it was a different story in high school.

"In my sophomore year, I grew about six inches, but I was still really, really skinny," Magulick said. "Even after high school, I grew two inches in juniors and I've gained about 40 pounds, so I grew a ton."

While many players take time to play in the competitive junior A leagues in North America, some are still willing to make the jump to college hockey straight out of high school.

"DeLorenzo dips his shoulder ... head fake ... the goalie is down! He slides the puck out in front ... Obringer sneaks in and tees up for a shot..."

Obringer played high school hockey at Baldwin High School in Pittsburgh and passed up offers to play junior B hockey. He then enrolled at Penn State as a freshman for the fall 2003 semester. After an unsuccessful tryout with the team his freshman year, Obringer transferred to Washington & Jefferson College to pursue an engineering degree the following fall.

Obringer made the team at his new school and led it in scoring in his first year, notching 17 goals and 17 assists. However, the school did not fit well with the former Penn Stater.

"As far as going to W&J, I don't even know why I went there," Obringer said. "I went there and just really hated the school and the atmosphere and then decided to come back here.

"I talked to coach about coming back to see if he'd give me a shot."

Obringer did make it back, but once again without much fanfare. His second attempt to walk on was successful, but under the radar.

"Nate is such a quiet, shy kid, you kind of wish he would have tooted his own horn a little bit more," Battista said. "Even when he came to tryouts, there were some of our coaches who wanted to cut him because he didn't stand out. He didn't make you sit on the edge of your seat and say, 'Wow!' "

Once Obringer did get into the lineup, specifically onto the power play unit, he started making people say "Wow." Battista credits Obringer for being the catalyst that has gotten the power play on track.

Making the jump straight from high school is a difficult one, as players must adjust to the faster speed of the collegiate game and the responsibility of being a collegiate athlete, on top of the stresses that any normal college freshman must face.

If the transition is so difficult, why does anyone try to make the jump?

"I thought about prep school and looked at my options, and I looked at some Div. III schools and looked at Penn State," freshman forward Steve Peck said. "I decided that I wanted to stick to school and if I could play somewhere, then I could play."

"Obringer shoots ... SCORES!

The Icers take a two-goal lead on the power-play goal by Obringer, from DeLorenzo and Jordan, as they mob the scorer in celebration."

While the five players on the ice and the 30 on the team have all had their own unique path to this point, they are all together now, as one unit -- one team. Now, it doesn't matter if they went to juniors or prep school or came straight from high school.

To push for a national championship means working together, despite the different roads its players have traveled to get there.