The No. 2 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers approach every game expecting to win, but this weekend, it's hard for them not to feel content with a split against their arch-rival, the No. 3 Ohio Bobcats.

After losing 4-1 Friday night at the Bird Arena, Penn State (26-6-0, 24-4-0 ACHA) tweaked its lineup and responded with a 3-2 victory over Ohio (26-7-1) on Saturday.

The Bobcats jumped on the Icers early on Friday, taking advantage of a slow start by Penn State and a significant home-ice advantage. The Bobcats built up a 3-0 lead, then extended it to 4-0 on an empty-net goal. The Icers were kept off the scoreboard until late in the third period, when defenseman Keith Jordan ended Ohio's shutout.

"We were playing in such a tough environment," Jordan said. "They always play really hard in that rink. I think we played tough on Friday night, but we just had a hard time coming out in the first period."

Much of the Icers' troubles were attributed to the hostile environment. They hadn't played on the road in nearly a month, and the Bird Arena is known as one of the most difficult places to play in the ACHA.

"We just kind of tried to weather the storm for the first 10 minutes of the first period," Penn State head coach Scott Balboni said. "After that we played pretty well, but we didn't get any bounces. They definitely outplayed us, but we didn't play that bad."

Before Saturday's game, Balboni reminded his players how important it was that they return home with one win. If the Icers could split the weekend series and win three out of four against the Bobcats for the year, they could make a strong case for the No. 1 ranking in the ACHA.

Balboni also made some changes to the lineup, altering the power play unit and having centers Lukas DeLorenzo and Nate Obringer switch lines. Goaltender Nick Signet also came in to replace Chris Matteo on Saturday.

"I think he just wanted to try something different, give a different sort of spark and obviously it worked," DeLorenzo said.

The Icers fell behind 1-0 in the first period, but responded with goals from defenseman Scott Dakan and forward Matt Schwartz in the second. Suddenly, the bounces were going their way and the Bird Arena was no longer as intimidating.

Defenseman Andrew Magulick made the game 3-1 in the third, and from there, the Icers were able to hold on for the 3-2 win.

"We bounced back yesterday and we played really well on Saturday night," DeLorenzo said. "Getting three out of four from Ohio on the year is pretty good."

When the coaches vote on the final rankings before the ACHA national tournament this week, they will have a tough decision to make. Ohio defeated No. 1 Illinois twice last weekend while Penn State swept No. 4 Rhode Island. Neither team separated itself by a wide margin during this weekend's games.

"We feel that we have a pretty good claim on that spot," Jordan said. "You never know how things will turn out because it's a coaches vote. But I think we consider this weekend a success. It's tough not to get that first game but it's hard to win two in that rink. On the whole, we consider the weekend a success."