Rewind to 1998.

It is the night before the national championship game and the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers are preparing for their impending game with three-time defending champion Ohio University.

Up to that point, the Icers had enjoyed an incredibly prosperous season - amassing a 31-5-1 mark - and were poised to win the program's first national title in eight years. But something was missing.

According to Scott Balboni, an assistant to former head coach Joe Battista at the time, Penn State had not yet had that one defining moment where a team comes together.

Then, one of the Icers' veteran players gave a heartfelt speech that changed everything.

"One of our senior captains, who had been kind of been out on his own the whole year, stood up and said, 'I want to do this as a team. Together.' And - boom - we went out the next day and won 5-1. The other team never had a chance," Balboni recalled. "In '98, we had a great year, but it was the night before the national championship game that optimized the team."

Penn State's victory was its third national championship and the first of five it would claim in the next six seasons.

Fast forward to today.

Balboni is the head coach for the No. 3 Icers (5-2, 5-1 ACHA) and is enjoying success in his first year at the helm. Through the first seven games of the young season, he has led his young team to several impressive wins, including a 5-1 thrashing of No. 14 Weber State on Saturday at the ACHA Showcase.

But he is still looking and patiently waiting for that moment where everything will come together.

Having coached for eight years, Balboni knows that the defining moment comes at different times each season and "you don't necessarily know when that time is."

Skeptics could point to the Icers' youth as a factor that would hinder progression. Of the team's 26 roster spots, 20 are underclassmen, with four freshmen and 16 seniors. Meanwhile, just a pair of seniors comprise the other eight remaining slots.

Still, Penn State has an abundance of skill and ability to aid the growing process. Balboni has also tapped several players to provide leadership, starting with the guys "who wear the As on their sweaters."

Along with team captain and sophomore forward Keith Jordan, Balboni has looked to his assistant captains, senior forward Mike McMullen and junior forward Paul Zodtner, as sources of guidance for the younger players.

Zodtner feels that Penn State's youth has actually helped it become one of the closest teams he has even been a part of.

"This is definitely one of the most cohesive teams that I've been on in my time here. There is no hierarchy; we treat other guys the same way they treat us, with respect," he said. "It's tough when it's top-heavy and you have more seniors than freshmen. Here, everybody feels like they are a part of the same thing. It is great that we are treated the same way and that is a big part of winning."

So far, the Icers have improved through the first three weeks of the season. After battling the offseason rust and becoming familiar with the new team dynamic, they are beginning to hit their stride as the bulk of the conference schedule approaches.

This weekend, Penn State will renew one of its biggest rivalries when it serves as host to No. 4 Ohio.

"This weekend will be a big indicator of what kind of team we are," Zodtner said.