It will be difficult for fans to recognize the No. 2 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers in tomorrow night's home opener. Even the most loyal supporters may be drawing a blank when their team makes debuts at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

The confusion won't be caused by the loss of 10 players from last season's team or the addition of eight new players to the current roster, however.

Simply, it will be because the players no longer have their names on their jerseys.

"It was an internal decision that I made because I wanted us to continue with the school tradition of playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the names on the back," head coach Scott Balboni said.

Shortly after being named the Icers' new head coach in June, Balboni thought that his team needed a change. So, the first-year head coach decided to remove his players' last names from the back of their jerseys as a way of bringing the Penn State tradition onto the ice.

"Everybody knows that we have a really tight, close-knit team this year and that is how we're going to win. We just wanted to emphasize that to the players," Balboni said. "We play for the name on the front, so it is irrelevant whose name is on the back."

Balboni's reason for the sweater alteration was not fashion-related. Instead, it was an opportunity for him to bring his young team together. With four freshmen and 16 sophomores comprising 20 of the team's 28 roster spots, it is easy to see why.

Fortunately, the coaching staff has not heard any discontent from the players, who have rallied around their coach's decision.

"We realize that every other team on campus does it that way and coach wanted us to be a part of that," senior forward Mike McMullen said.

"It is a good thing. We're a team sport, not a varsity sport, so we didn't have to do that but it is something that we chose to do. It doesn't matter who is scoring goals or who is making the plays, it's all about the team and that is how we're going to have to play this year to be successful."

McMullen, second on the team in scoring last season, is one of only two seniors on the team. Along with senior goaltender Chris Matteo and a seasoned core of juniors, he will be one of the players that Balboni expects to provide leadership.

Another will be team captain and junior defenseman Keith Jordan, who believes that there are a lot of players on this year's team who can provide guidance for the younger players.

"We have a lot of guys who are able to step into leadership roles," Jordan said. "There are some really good leaders on this team, so I think it is a joint effort and I'm just the one with the 'C' on my jersey."

After opening the season with two impressive performances on the road, there is no denying that the Icers have talent. But once the injuries begin to pile up and adversity rears its ugly head, they know that talent will only get them so far.

Balboni just hopes that his fashion statement will allow his team to make a statement on the ice.

"We have a close-knit group of guys and that is going to help us overcome some of those tough spots and maybe even some of our weaknesses as a team," he said. "We can take our weaknesses and offset them with the fact that we are a hard-working group that battles for each other. That is going to be our edge this year."