Coming off their first two-loss weekend of the season, the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers do not need any extra motivation going into this weekend's series on the road against No. 3 Ohio. But, it's there anyway, posted on the bulletin board outside the locker room.

"We pretty much dominated them the entire game," the quote on the board reads, the words spoken by Ohio goaltender Ryan Baksh following the Bobcats' 1-0 win at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Nov. 11.

"It's just more fuel on the fire," senior assistant captain Luc Walker said. "It gives us more motivation to get in there and put some pucks in on him especially, but also beat their team. But we don't need any more motivation than we have. After losing last weekend and especially going into Bird Arena. That should pump you up enough."

At 7:30 tonight and tomorrow night at the same time, the No. 1 Icers (23-6-2) will play against the Bobcats (26-5-1) at Ohio's home rink, described as a "battle zone" by some. The 13 freshmen on the Penn State roster will be exposed to the harsh road environment for the first time. Those that have already played there, like sophomore defenseman Keith Jordan, know what to expect.

"It's pretty rowdy there. The fans get really into it," Jordan said. "The students have their faces painted up and stuff and just yell at you and taunt you. It's pretty sweet."

While the crowd is an integral part of the atmosphere, so is the actual ice surface, which configuration is unlike the traditional NHL rinks hockey fans may be used to.

The rink is the same width as a normal playing surface, but the differences come in the length. Fifteen feet are between the back of the goal and the boards, the most allowable under USA Hockey rules. Couple that with the normal 60 feet of offensive zone, and you get a considerably smaller neutral zone, giving players less time to transfer from defense to offense and vice versa.

"It's so hard to play there. It's so different than anywhere else," Walker said. "It's just a small ice surface. You don't have a lot of room to skate. You don't have a lot of room to do anything really because as soon as you get the puck, someone's on you, hitting you. Like JoeBa said, it's a battle zone."

Icers head coach Joe Battista said that despite the tough playing conditions, Penn State has had their fair share of successes at the Bird. The Icers beat Ohio there to win their most recent ACHA National Championship in 2003.

"Sometimes you go, 'Oh jeez, you gotta go to someplace and play,' " Battista said. "I look at this as every time we go there, it's another opportunity to hand them a loss in their building. The players have to feel that way. The players have to make that happen."

With just four games remaining in the regular season, this weekend's series is likely to determine who gets the No. 2 ranking at the National Tournament in March. Having beaten the Icers in two games last weekend -- one in controversial fashion -- Rhode Island is likely to have the No. 1 spot on Feb. 17 when the final regular season rankings are released.

Ohio has already clinched a berth to the 16-team postseason tournament by being the regular season champions of the Central State Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL). Penn State is an ACHA independent and must get in by being one of the top-16 teams in the final rankings.

"We're both in the same boat right now," Battista said. "Whoever wins this weekend series will probably end up second [at Nationals], and the other will probably end up third. We both have a lot of stake. It's going to make for a great weekend of hockey."