Sixty minutes.

Sixty minutes on Friday night that may decide a season.

That is what faces the ACHA Div. II Penn State Ice Lions going into their showdown with Stony Brook on Friday night at 9:15 at Greenberg Ice Pavilion. The Ice Lions (5-2-1, 4-2-1 SECHL) coming off their tie with Montclair State, know the significance of this game, despite having only played nine games.

"Make no mistake. This is probably the biggest game of the year for us," head coach Pat Fung said.

The Ice Lions come into the game in third place, seven points behind the first place Seawolves in the conference standings. This game will also be the ultimate test for the Ice Lions and its improving defense. Stony Brook (9-0-0, 2-0 SECHL) leads the league in offense, and three times it has scored more than 10 goals in a game. Coach Fung credits their success to their depth and also their strong sense of fundamentals.

"Stony Brook is a very good team. What makes them so good is that they don't excel in just one area. They are a very deep team and also they are so good at doing everything right," Fung said.

This week during practice, Fung said that he has been going back to basics and focusing on simple drills to improve their offense instead of specific tactics like they had in previous weeks.

"We're doing a lot of 1-on-1, lot of shooting drills," Fung said.

This game will also be a test for the Ice Lions offensively. Stony Brook averages less than 2.5 goals allowed through their first nine games, allowing two or less in five of those games. Fung also has been emphasizing to his players to play hard, whether in the game or in practice.

What he has really made the players do this week is to prepare for the game mentally, a self-reflection if you will. Fung has been re-iterating all week to this team, especially his younger players, that they have to look in the mirror and decide how they want to contribute for this team. He feels that this team has not yet developed the goal-scoring prowess and talent that he had in earlier teams, which he says, is a significant factor in the team's recent offensive struggles.

"Some of the problem offensively is that we lost a lot of talent after last year, and the guys we replaced them with are capable," Fung said. "Some of the younger guys just have to evaluate where they are in talent. They have to look in the mirror and decide what they want to be."

He also said that one of his concerns is that the team has not been very physical, and has not seen that "killer instinct" in the game's early stages yet.

Fung is hoping that Friday night will be different though. In front of the home crowd for the first time since a loss to Siena on Oct. 7, the importance of this game coupled with the energy of the crowd could provide the team with the energy to start strong.

"These are the kind of games that as an athlete, a competitor, you want to play. Athletes work their whole lives to play in games like these." he said. "I want the guys to be anxious for this game. I want them to be pumped up."

The Ice Lions must be pumped up for every second of every minute for 60 minutes.

Their season may not demand anything less.