This weekend's games for the Penn State ACHA Division I Icers may be played on a regulation rink, but it won't be as roomy as usual.
This Friday and Saturday, the No. 3 Icers (12-1-2) will play two home games against No. 8 Liberty at 9 tonight and 3:30 Saturday afternoon at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.
The large physical size of the Liberty players convinced Icers coach Scott Balboni to try a new practice style.
Because he couldn't make his players bigger, he made the rink smaller.
During practice, he brought the nets to the red line and set them up on the sideboards making the actual width of the rink blue line to blue line. Normally, the rink is 85-feet wide.
Three players on each side squared off with a goalie. Quickness and physicality were the name of the game.
"What we were trying to do is condense down the areas so guys didn't have as much room as they normally have in a rink," Balboni said.
"We want everyone to make decisions quicker, so we simulate that by having everybody pushed into a small area."
Penn State is looking to continue an eight-game winning streak. Senior forward Sean Kenney said the "big boys" on Liberty's team will make the game physical.
"They're not the most skilled team, but they come to work, and they're going to battle you hard," he said.
"This weekend, we're getting ready for a war."
The Penn State team has already suffered the effects of physical matches.
It will be missing junior Andrew Magulick, senior Matt Schwartz and junior Steve Peck because of injuries.
Senior Keith Jordan and junior goalie Nick Signet may also sit out because of an ankle injury and the flu, respectively.
These players have proven to be some of the team's best so far this season.
When Magulick went down a few weeks ago, he was the leading scorer. So was Schwartz when he became injured. Keeping up the pattern, Penn State's current points leader is Jordan. Balboni said it may not be the ideal situation, but it has its positives and negatives.
"Obviously those are some real key players for us that are hurt right now," he said. "But on the positive side, it has given younger guys the opportunity to play that might not have before."
Last weekend, the undermanned Icers swept No. 3 Rhode Island 5-1 and 4-1 in two physical matches.
"We have to do the same thing for Liberty," Jordan said.
"If we do that, I think we'll be fine."
