Seventeen players who have put on the No. 6 Penn State Icers sweater in the 2009-10 season did the same thing last season.

Tim O'Brien and Teddy Hume are still there. As are Ryan Paradis and Steve Thurston and John Conte. But goaltender Nick Signet isn't there. Neither is forward Luke DeLorenzo.

But despite not having the veteran leadership of 13 seniors like last season, there's a feeling that the unknown factors around this team could possibly be a positive attribute.

"It's a whole different team," senior forward Matt Kirstein said. "I think last year, we knew exactly what we had. We knew what we were going forward with, we knew our lines, we knew our power plays, not much changed throughout the year. We got guys up and down the lineup who can play any given night."

Through the first month, the statistical comparisons haven't been that different. Penn State was 7-1 through its first eight games last season; the Icers are 6-1-1 in their first eight games this season. The Icers scored 56 goals and allowed 24 in eight games last year, they've scored 44 goals and allowed 21 in eight games this season.

But while the coaching staff had a good idea of what the roster would be most nights last season, this year O'Brien said the roster hasn't been set until Thursday afternoon after practice. He sees the roster fluidity as a positive because it pushes the whole team during practice and doesn't allow them to get complacent.

"There was a lot of veteran leadership, both vocally and on the ice," O'Brien said. "This year, it's sometimes good because you got 13 new guys and you got guys that, last year we might've had two or three guys be on the borderline to play and get in the lineup. This year, we got about six or eight spots every weekend left to be filled by anybody."

This year's team has had its share of learning experiences. The team is still struggling with consistently playing a full 60 minutes, while the young defensive corps has been under fire at times.

Realistically, the Icers could easily be 5-2-1 after the controversial no-goal call on opening night against Towson. But Penn State coach Scott Balboni said the team is still going through a learning curve.

"We're still making mistakes and learning our systems," Balboni said. "We're still going through things for the first time. Last year, we had guys who played in tight games or overtime losses or games where we've blown teams out. This team hasn't yet, so they don't know how to react."

But what makes Kirstein optimistic is the potential for this team down the line.

"We haven't really peaked yet," Kirstein said, "Last year's team, we peaked pretty early and knew where we were. I like this team because I think we can get a lot better."