Perhaps the only way to even come close to replacing former Penn State ACHA Division I Icers head coach Joe Battista would be to find someone who could elevate the seven-time national champions back to the top spot -- and, maybe more importantly, expand and uphold the program.

A committee made up of administrators, important personnel and current players decided that longtime assistant coach Scott Balboni would be the best coach to achieve that.

Balboni replaced former head coach Battista, who stepped down from the national runner-up Icers in April to become the executive director of the Nittany Lion Club.

Along with his familiarity with the Icers, and his outstanding coaching abilities, Balboni's business and marketing expertise was what made him the clear choice for the job, coordinator of team sports Meg Handley said at a June press conference to announce the hiring. Battista, who was not on the committee, but will remain involved with the Icers, echoed the committee's sentiment.

"What differentiated Scott from the other candidates was his knowledge of the area, the business contacts that he already had," Battista said. "Half of his job is to market the ice rink, and then part of the Icers job is you're a full-time fundraiser -- people need to realize it's not just about coaching."

A successful area businessman, Balboni founded and ran two investment companies and has worked as branch manager of Saleme Insurance for the past four years. His qualifications as a bench coach are on par with his business experience, too.

Serving as an Icers assistant coach from 1997-1999 and then a volunteer assistant since 2002, Balboni is well versed in how the program is run. As a former defenseman for Div. I Providence College, and with a brief pro career, he "has been in the most competitive environment," Battista said.

While Balboni has served as an assistant to Battista for years, one should not expect him to just carry out the status quo as far as coaching style is concerned.

"I'm a very aggressive coach, and I'm a very strict coach. And whatever systems we decide to play, you'll see those are very aggressive systems," Balboni said. "I don't tend to be very passive and sit back and wait for other teams.

"We're really putting a lot of emphasis on players doing their job and not losing their job and not being a free-flowing team but being a very strict, system-oriented team."

Being a system-oriented coach and a "terrific disciplinarian," as Battista called him, Balboni still has the utmost respect from the Icers' players.

That respect earned Balboni a great endorsement from the two players who were on the committee, Battista said.

"We were so happy with how [Battista] runs things like a Div. I program. The best thing in world to us would be to get somebody that was already in the system," senior goaltender Chris Matteo said. "Coach Balboni is certainly a great coach, and I don't think we could ask for any anyone better, for all of us."

One of the new coach's greatest assets is being a tireless recruiter, Battista said. This facet of the program is one that Balboni will look to put his mark on again. Hailing from New England, Balboni said he would like to open up that part of the country again to the Icers. He plans to work toward brining in some great talent from New England on top of keeping the strong ties that Battista built in the Pittsburgh area and throughout Pennsylvania.

"The biggest thing I'm going to try to do is what I did in 1997 and 1998, and that's to go and really hit the road hard and do a thorough job recruiting student-athletes that will excel in the classroom and excel on the ice," Balboni said.

With marketing the team, the ice rink, raising funds, recruiting and coaching a team of collegiate athletes, the responsibilities seemingly don't stop for the new coach. One of the reasons Battista stepped down as head coach was to spend more time with his immediate family.

A similar conflict would appear evident for a man with a family with two young children. However, for the Balbonis -- and many others involved with this program -- the "Icers Family" is just an extension of their own.

"I actually met my wife, [Mary], right here at the hockey rink," Balboni said. "She was a manager of the Div. II team when I first met her -- so all we've really ever known as a family is the Penn State hockey family.

"My children have grown up in the rink; Joe Battista is my daughter's godfather. So that's a real tight family and that's the family we've always known."

As a respected member of the community and the "Icers Family," Balboni takes the helm for an Icers team poised to continue -- and even build upon -- their past success. The best sign of things to come could be from the endorsement of one of the key members of that "Icers Family" Balboni is a part of.

"From my end, when I hired him in 1997, it was one of the best decisions I ever made," Battista said. "He re-energized not only me, but the whole program. When Scott came on board in 1998, that started the string of nine consecutive national championship games -- and he had a lot to do with that."