The No. 3 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers' injury list was cut in half Monday.

In the team's first practice since Thanksgiving break, sophomore forward Taylor Cera skated at full strength for the first time in weeks. Senior forward Mike Diethorn also returned to the team from injury.

"Diethorn skated today," Icers head coach Scott Balboni said. "He's good to go this weekend. Taylor Cera is 100 percent. He's kind of been in and out. Even though he's been playing, he's back to 100 percent."

This after an injury to Cera's hip prevented the forward from pushing off in his skating stride and Diethorn had been limited to playing in just one game this season.

Balboni added that the remaining two players on the team's injured list, senior defenseman Scott Dakan and junior forward Dave Herel, are likely out until next semester.

"It felt good in practice [Monday]," Cera said of his hip. "I actually thought that I felt more in shape then I thought I would. I was a little rusty on the stick handling and stuff like that, but that'll come back during the week just like it will for everybody else.

"The first semester is over already, but I'm back to 100 percent and ready to go."

Cera, the 6-foot-2 forward with a physical style of play who started the season on the team's top line alongside senior Luke DeLorenzo, missed the team's Nov. 21-22 series against No. 11 Rhode Island with the injury. It was the second time an injury kept him from playing this season, after a knee injury limited him earlier.

In the nine games Cera has been able to play this year, he's recorded two assists and no goals. In those games, he's recorded a plus-5 defensive rating.

"I hurt my knee, I came back for about two weeks and then I hurt my hip in a Saturday game," he said. "I just thought it was another bruise. No big deal. I came back to practice and went that Tuesday and my hip felt a little weird, so I saw the trainer.

"After coming back from that knee injury, you hate sitting out with a pulled muscle, but I couldn't push off, so I had to."

Now, healthy for the first time in weeks, will Cera return to his spot on the top line?

Cera said he has yet to discuss his role for this weekend's series against No. 8 West Chester with Balboni. He added that it was good just to be on the ice for the first time in over a week.

Of his return to the team, though, DeLorenzo said it was "huge."

"He adds a lot of size to our team. He adds a lot of strength. And he's a skilled guy," DeLorenzo said. "He can put the puck away. So to have him back is obviously going to make our team better."