Penn State ACHA Division I Icers head coach Scott Balboni said all his team needed to earn a No. 1 national ranking and the top seed in the national tournament was one win on the road against Ohio this past week.

"How everyone else votes in the league, I don't know, but if you look at the wins and losses, that's how I think it should shake out," Balboni said of the final coaches' poll prior to the crucial two-game series with the then-No. 3 Bobcats.

Apparently the coaches were listening, because that is exactly how it shook out. Yesterday, the coaches of the American Collegiate Hockey Association agreed with Balboni and voted the Icers (26-6-0, 24-4-0 ACHA), who split the weekend series with the Bobcats, the top team in the country, for the first time this season.

Penn State's 17 first-place votes -- out of a possible 37 -- edged the 11 received by Ohio (27-7-1), which is now ranked No. 2, to move the seven-time ACHA National Champion into its first No. 1 ranking since February 2006 and, more importantly, the top seed in the upcoming national tournament.

The ACHA National Tournament will be held at the Ice Zone in Youngstown, Ohio from February 28 to March 4.

"I thought we did what we needed to do during the year to secure the No. 1 spot," said Balboni, who added he wasn't surprised about the ranking.

The Icers' first-year head coach felt his team deserved both the No. 1 ranking and No. 1 seed after amassing an astounding 7-1 record against teams currently ranked in the ACHA's top four. Despite not playing previous No. 1 Illinois this season, the Icers jumped into the top spot by sweeping the season series with Rhode Island (4-0) and winning the season series with Ohio (3-1).

Last season, Penn State was a less-than-stellar 3-6-1 against the top four of the ACHA, which contributed to it being placed at the No. 3 seed. This season, the Icers' domination of the league's elite propelled them into a very favorable position for the national tournament.

"Its huge," defenseman Andrew Magulick said of his team's seed. "The first two rounds are not going to be pushovers, but they're definitely going to be easier.

"We were all saying that we've got the No. 1, our home jerseys and home-ice advantage all of the way through, but let's take our five minutes to enjoy it, and then move on and forget about it because it means nothing at this point."

The Icers, who have now qualified for all 16 ACHA National Tournaments, will face Robert Morris (Pa.) in the first round .

If Penn State continues the trend of playing well against the cream of the ACHA crop, it will likely find itself vying for an eighth national title.

"I think this team is the team that's going to win the national championship this year," Magulick said. "We have a great team from top to bottom, and our depth is going to carry us through."