No. 2 Penn State (22-4-0, 20-2-0 ACHA) will get that opportunity this weekend when it serves as host to Duquesne (5-16-1) at 9 tonight and 3:30 tomorrow afternoon in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, which is expected to be jam-packed in celebration of the annual Alumni Weekend.
If the Icers, who are currently riding a four-game winning streak, are to redeem themselves for the scare provided by the Dukes more than two months ago, they will need to beat a team that has greatly improved.
The return of two key players -- both missed the opening portion of the season and did not play in the last meeting -- to the Duquesne starting roster will complement one of the league's top scoring threats in forward Mike Heath, who is currently ranked eighth in the ACHA with 24 goals.
With a healthy lineup and more stability on both offense and defense, Duquesne has won three straight by outscoring its opponents 19-2 and is "a completely different team than the one we faced earlier in the year," according to Balboni.
The same can be said for Penn State, as it will once again be without four of its best players.
On paper, the absence of forwards Mike McMullen, Luke DeLorenzo, Frank Berry and defenseman Keith Jordan is significant. But, on the ice, the Icers have proven that they are just as formidable with that quartet missing.
"We have the most depth out of any team in our league and it really shows," sophomore defender Andrew Magulick said. "It really shows when we take a team like Pitt and, on the first night, we came out raring to go and just took them down."
Penn State would also like to see more of the trends from last weekend's sweep of Pitt carry over to the slate of games against Duquesne, including a distinct shot advantage, widespread scoring production and steadfast defense.
The Icers outshot the Panthers by 95 combined attempts (123-28) in the two games, which led directly to seven players accounting for the team's nine goals.
In net, the Icers saw all three of their goalies (Chris Matteo, Aaron Myers and Nick Signet) combine for 28 saves and only one goal allowed. Following the 5-4 loss to West Chester at the beginning of the semester, Penn State's defense has allowed just three scores in its last four games.
Magulick added that the Icers will once again need all-around contribution if they are to prevent another close call and knock off the up-and-coming Dukes.
"Our second and third lines are going to have to play even better... and we're going to have to get more scoring out of the lines that haven't been doing it as much," he said. "Everyone is going to have to step up."
