Three teams have beaten the No. 3 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers in regulation this season, but none of them have accomplished the feat on an NHL-sized rink.
No. 1 Illinois and No. 4 Delaware beat the Icers on ice rinks that were wider than the normal 85 feet, but there will be no such luxury for opponents starting tomorrow at the ACHA National Tournament.
The Icers (31-3-4) begin their quest for an unprecedented 11th straight championship game appearance at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow against No. 14 West Virginia at the ESL Sports Centre in Rochester, N.Y.
With a victory, Penn State would move on to play the winner of No. 6 Liberty and No. 11 Kent State on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier this year, the Icers beat the Mountaineers twice at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion by scores of 5-1 and 6-2.
"West Virginia poses a big threat to us because they have a goaltender that can change a game," coach Scott Balboni said. "We've been successful against them in a physical game and using our speed.
"We will be back on an NHL rink, which is where we're most comfortable with our team and team setup."
The goaltender Balboni talked about was the Mountaineers' Rastislav Kret. Last season, the Icers fired about 70 shots on Kret during the game in Morgantown, Balboni said, and Kret stopped all but two, keeping the Mountaineers close.
"Our No. 1 goaltender is a person who can make or break a game," West Virginia coach Jeff Anderson said. "We are going to change a few things in our systems and take advantage of the opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the country."
Penn State is looking forward to getting back to the NHL-sized 85-foot-wide rink after having problems with wider surfaces this season. The only three teams to defeat the Icers in regulation have done so on rinks 30 to 50 feet wider than usual.
One of the biggest assets to the Icers is their size and physical style of play that doesn't flourish on the wider rinks. Now with the game back to their liking, the Icers are looking to dominate lower-ranked teams as they did earlier this year.
While the Icers have handled West Virginia this year, they have also beaten potential second round opponent Liberty, 7-1, this season, but lost, 5-4, in overtime in the rematch.
"Liberty is a really tough team that drags us into an undisciplined game," Icers defenseman Keith Jordan said. "We have to try and stay out of the penalty box because they scored most of their goals on the power play last time."
With the familiarity of these teams Balboni said he is most afraid of playing a Kent State team the Icers have not played or seen footage on.
Still, every team is gunning for the Icers because they're carrying the pressure of a 10-game championship game streak.
"There's absolutely a bull's-eye on our chest in the tournament," Balboni said. "It's going to take a lot of hard work the first couple of games, and anything less than another trip to the championship would be a disappointment."
