After the No. 3 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers (17-3-0, 16-1-0 ACHA) close out the first half of their season against Niagara tomorrow night, they will get a much-needed respite with almost a month away from competition.

The team won't resume play until Jan. 10, but when it does, it will be without at least three of its biggest contributors.

From Jan. 17-27, forwards Frank Berry and Lukas DeLorenzo, and defenseman Keith Jordan will trade in the Icers' blue and white for the red, white and blue of Team USA to compete in the World University Games in Turin, Italy.

The U.S. University Select team, coached by Illinois' Chad Cassel, is made up of players and coaches from the ACHA and USA Hockey. About 50 players were invited to a tryout in August, which was used to determine the final 22-man squad that would be going to Italy. Penn State's total of three representatives is behind only Illinois and Rhode Island (four each).

"It's just an honor to be able to play with some of the best players in the ACHA and to be able to wear a Team USA jersey," DeLorenzo said.

While those three players -- and possibly more, as forwards Mike McMullen and Nate Obringer are alternates -- are playing in Italy against some of the world's best, they won't be too concerned about the team's ability to succeed in the six games they will miss.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem. We have one of the deepest teams in the ACHA. Everyone is going to keep fulfilling their role and keep going," Berry said.

DeLorenzo agreed, noting that this type of opportunity does not come around very often, and it will be a great experience for him and his teammates.

The Icers will be playing away games against Scranton and Delaware, as well as home series against Pittsburgh and Duquesne, during that time period. Penn State has defeated all of those teams, except Pittsburgh, which it hasn't played yet.

Team USA will be facing select 17-28 year-olds from Russia, Canada, Slovakia and Korea.

"These teams are going to be extremely tough and the style of play is going to be a lot faster and a lot more mature," Jordan said. "So I'm really going to have to be at the top of my game at all times. It's going to be a real challenge because we're probably going to be playing teams that are more skilled than us."

Penn State coach Scott Balboni is happy for his players to get this opportunity. The World University Games are the second-largest sporting event in the world, next to the Olympics, featuring 11 sports and 72 medal events. More than 1,500 international athletes will be on hand.

"I thought all the guys from our team that were invited to the camp had an opportunity to make it," Balboni said. "Keith Jordan is playing great and I think he will be one of the key players on the defense, and Frank and DeLorenzo are two of our top three scorers and would certainly be big contributors out there.

"DeLorenzo was Rookie of the Year in the ACHA last year and Frank was a unanimous pick by everybody for the World University team, so I think [Cassel] got not only some of our elite players, but also some elite players in the ACHA."