Bryan Sobonya has yet to play a game for the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers, but that hasn't stopped him from talking about his lofty goal for the team.

"Hopefully, I'm here to win a national championship. That's what I told [head coach Scott Balboni] when I called him and decided to come here," he said. "And I think we can do it. I think we have the right group of guys and the right coaching."

Sobonya is the newest member of the No. 2 Icers after he officially joined the team over winter break. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound center transferred from Utica College, where he played hockey for two years with the NCAA Division III Pioneers.

It is commonplace for club teams like the Icers to add several new players to the roster between fall and spring semesters. According to Balboni, club hockey programs, unlike NCAA programs, do not require transferring students to sit out a year before they can compete again.

Had Sobonya transferred to another NCAA program, he would have to wait until next season before he could play. Instead, he will join one of the

ACHA's perennial powerhouses. Even though he hasn't played in several months, Sobonya may make his debut this weekend at home against Pitt, according to Balboni.

"My guess is that yes, we will see him this weekend," he said. "It'll depend on this week. He's only been with us for two and a half weeks ... and he's been trying to get in shape.

"As long as he feels good, and he is in full hockey shape, I would anticipate that he would play at least one game this weekend."

Balboni is not going to rush his newest player onto the ice until he is ready, however. Regardless of when Sobonya does play, Penn State's first-year head coach is confident that he will be a contributor as the postseason approaches.

In two years with Utica, which currently holds a No. 13 national ranking in Div. III, Sobonya played in 45 games, including all of his team's 27 contests during his second year. After registering only one point in 18 games as a freshman, he added five points (one goal and three assists) and was named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference's West All-Academic Team as a sophomore.

However, various reasons caused Sobonya to transfer after last season, so the Haymarket, Va., native turned his sights to the south and zeroed in on Penn State.

"I think it is the best school, not just for hockey but academically as well," he said.

Sobonya beat the deadline to file his papers for transfer by two days and arrived in Happy Valley between the semesters. Having had a long layoff, he began training so that he could get into shape and be ready for the remainder of the season.

Although Sobonya has had to adjust to many changes on the ice, the biggest change, surprisingly, has not been the switch from NCAA Div. III-level hockey to club-level hockey.

"I went to Utica College and it was 2,000 students. Now, I'm with 40,000 people and there are 300 people in my classes," he said. "But the hockey seems the same."

Off the ice, Sobonya's new teammates have embraced him.

"Everyone's been great. They've really been helping me, asking how my classes are going and getting me set up with my housing," he said.

It remains to be seen with whom Sobonya will be playing with when he does finally step on the ice.

Balboni said at Tuesday's practice that he didn't want to mess around with the black and blue lines, which are "playing great together" right now, and that Sobonya will most likely be playing center on either the green or gold line.