For the first time in seven months, neither of my beat partners or I were responsible for previewing the upcoming weekend's action today -- but that doesn't mean we didn't want to.

See, for as much as there's been written on how athletes are creatures of habit, writers (at least the three who wrote in this space starting on a day this past September) are just as guilty. So the fact that there is no hockey to report on today is downright eerie.

In case you missed the Icers package in today's Collegian, here are both stories:

A story by Casella reflecting on how this year's senior class will be remembered.

And...

A column on what at least one writer thinks should be the lasting image of one Luke DeLorenzo.

In the inaugural BTP post in early September, I wrote of how I could smell that it was hockey season and of how great it was that hockey had returned -- and of how my only complaint was that the smell of hockey was strangely similar to mildew. I'd prefer that smell to the summer (As an Alaskan, I'm not one for sandy beaches and suntan lotion).

If you like today's stories, here are two more that I think sum up this senior class fairly well:

A profile of Mike Diethorn, the final member of the 13-man senior class, that provides a glimpse of the team off the ice the three of us here came to know this year.

And a downright eerie article from 2006 that I stumbled across yesterday.

Until next time,

-Dean

Greetings everybody and welcome to beautiful, scenic Gates Mills, Ohio.

Casella, Myers and myself made the four-and-a-half hour drive from State College this afternoon to make tonight's semifinal with Illinois. Sports Editor Kevin Zitzman was kind enough to tag along - he covered the Icers last season, and this will be his first experience at the ACHA National Tournament.

The tournament is being played at Gilmour Academy, a prep school outside Cleveland. The seating capacity here isn't nearly as big as Greenberg, but the seats are filling up quick.

Be sure to stick with us tonight as we give you a real-time account of tonight's semifinal. This game's winner will take on No. 1 Lindenwood tomorrow night in the ACHA National Championship Game.

Here's tonight's starters for Penn State:

F: Jaime Zimmel

F: Frank Berry

F: Brandon Rubeo

D: Steve Thurston

D: Craig Brooks

G: Nick Signet

Penn State took the opening faceoff. The crowd here is about 50/50 between Penn State fans and Illini fans.

I'll take you guys as long as my computer stays alive -- after that, Casella will take over.

One of the Icers' hottest players, Marek Polidor, just had a nice single-man rush toward the Illinois net, but wasn't able to get off a crisp shot.

Tim O'Brien just had a look from in front of the Illini net, but Illinois goalie Mike Burda came up with the save. Still, the Icers appear to be dictating play early, although we're only at the 14:45 mark of the first period.

With 10:46 left in the first, Andrew Magulick was sent to the penalty box for roughing.

The Icers fought off the Illini power play with few Illinois scoring opportunities.

Frank Berry just had a shot on goal, but it deflected off Burda's shoulder. With 6:20 left in the first, Penn State is out-shooting the Illini 6-3.

Another Icers penalty -- this time it's Jaime Zimmel getting 2:00 for hooking.

Magulick just hammered an Illinois forward into the boards. Looks like the Icers are sticking with the gameplan that earned them a sweep over the Illini in January - physical play. Illinois is a smaller, quicker team, so the Icers look like they want to bring a physical presence to tonight's game again.

Penalty on Illinois' Gabe Heller -- 2:00 for elbowing. 1:15 left in the first.

We're going back to even strength. Illinois took the puck from defenseman Steve Thurston and Thurston had no choice but to drag the Illini player down.

Thurston got 2:00 for hooking.

And that's the end of the first period. Penn State and Illinois are deadlocked in a scoreless game.

Shots for the period: PSU - 6 ILL - 4

Here's an intermission update from our columnist-turned-sideline reporter Dean Myers:

When asked about missing a New England St. Patrick's Day parade for tonight's game, goalie and Massachusetts native John Jay said he was slightly disappointed, but "if we win it, it's OK."

We'll be checking back throughout the game with BTP's very own Craig Sager, Dean Myers.

Speaking of Dean, he's working tonight as our multimedia guy in addition to sideline reporter. He'll be bringing BTP various videos, slideshows and pieces of audio in the next few days, so be sure to check back with us frequently.

And here we go with the second period.

The Icers just had an open look at the net off a rebound, but no one was home in front of the goal to put it in. 16:56 left in the second.

It's tough to tell at this point whether the game is so evenly matched that neither team can get anything going or if the teams are scared of making the first mistake. Either way, there have been several offensive pushes by each team, but few real scoring threats.

Tim O'Brien and Illinois' Matt Jennings just were sent to the box with off-setting holding penalties. It's time to see some 4-on-4 hockey.

Nice play by Kyle Mills - he cut in front of a streaking Illini player who was uncontested going to the net. :42 left on each penalty, 7:19 left in the period.

With both penalties fought off, the Icers are mounting a threat on the Illini net. But after several open looks off rebounds, the game remains scoreless.

Illinois just used their timeout with 3:02 left in the period. The Illini look exhausted after having one line play a several-minute shift thanks to an icing call. The double-overtime game they played last night against Oklahoma probably doesn't help, either.

GOAL

Illinois just got on the board with 1:35 left on a goal by Jennings. Jennings took a rebound off Nick Signet, who was forced to leave the net on an Illini breakaway. The assist goes to Jordan Pringle.

That's the end of the second period. Illinois leads the Icers, 1-0.

Shots: PSU - 16 ILL - 11

My computer's about to die, so I'll hand the blog over to Casella for the rest of the game.

McDermott has officially passed the torch on and this is Casella bringing you the third period of the final semifinal of the ACHA tournament.

Illinois just lit the lamp only 41 seconds into the period and have taken a 2-0 lead.

This goal is just a flip of the first one for Illinois. Pringle scores the goal, assisted by Jennings.

The Illini are controlling the action here early in the third period with Penn State struggling to establish anything in the offensive zone.

Faceoff coming just to the right of the Illini goalie now with 18:03 left.

Penn State wins the draw and fires a shot toward the net, but nothing comes of the small scramble in front and the puck is cleared down the ice.

WIth the Icers putting pressure on the Illini defense, they are able to draw a tripping penalty, giving Penn State a power play with 16:51 left.

Halfway through the power play and Penn State hasn't been able to do much with it yet. Under a minute left in the penalty now and the Icers are still scrambling to set up the offense in the Illini zone.

Three, two, one...

And the power play is over. No goals, no shots for the Icers and it's back to full-strength with just under 15 minutes left in regulation.

Illinois puts a shot on net from the blue line, but it's gloved by Signet and he holds on for the faceoff.

Another Illini goal. A strong 2-on-1 push into the zone results in a one-timer right in front and the Illini have taken a commanding 3-0 lead with only 14:05 left.

The goal was scored by Johnny Liang with the centering pass coming from Jason Nemeth. Jennings also picked up an assist on the play.

Faceoff coming to the right of the Illini goal after the net is knocked loose. 12:33 to go.

With a comfortable three-goal lead the Illini seem to be content with sitting back in the defensive end for now. As soon as llinois crosses center ice the puck gets dumped into the Penn State zone and the Illini scramble to make a line change.

Shot from the point by Craig Brooks is gloved by Burda and after O'Brien makes some contact with the goalie, a bit of a scrum ensues. The pushing and shoving results in matching two-mintue roughing penalties for the Icers' Polidor and Illinois' Rob Deubel.

Four-on-four hockey for the next two minutes should open up the ice a little bit with 11 minutes left.

This is McDermott, back because Casella's laptop died. It's a rough night for our computers with no outlets readily available.

Penn State is trying to mount a comeback, but Illinois' goalie, Mike Burda, is stopping each attempt. 7:12 to go.

With 4:30 left and little offense being generated, things look bleak for Penn State. The Icers are doing everything they can to put pressure on the Illinois net, but the Illini have come up with clutch defensive plays each time.

Penn State has pulled Signet in order to get a sixth skater on the ice for a last-ditch attempt to get back into the game.

One minute left in the game - not much Penn State can do now.

And that'll do it. The final score: Illinois - 3 PSU - 0

Be sure to check back with BTP in the next few days as we wrap up the season with some final blog posts and Dean's multimedia content.

The ACHA Division I nationals are officially down to four teams now with No. 1 Lindenwood eliminating Liberty tonight by a score of 5-1 and No. 4 Illinois winning in a thriller over No. 5 Oklahoma 3-2 in double overtime.

With those two games now complete, the semifinal matchups are set for Tuesday night:

No. 1 Lindenwood vs. No. 11 West Chester, 5:30 p.m.

No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 4 Illinois, 8:30 p.m.

The two winners will go on to play in Wednesday night's championship game at 7.

Penn State swept the season series from the Illini earlier this season winning 5-1 and 5-4 on Jan. 16 and 17, respectively.

As for the other two teams remaining in the tournament, the Icers split a home and home series with West Chester back in December, winning in a shootout 3-2 at home and losing 6-4 on the road. Penn State has not played Lindenwood since Nov. 2005, when the Icers shutout the Lions in back-to-back games, 2-0 and 1-0.

Your Collegian reporters will be leaving State College early Tuesday to travel to Cleveland, Ohio for Penn State's semifinal game. Check back tomorrow night for updates on the team's showdown with the rival Illini and full tournament coverage.

-Paul

All good things must come to an end -- and Between The Pipes' Spring Break is no different.

On Day 5 of BTPs' Spring Break, the week of TQT comes to a glorious end with the posting of our Q&A with Icers captain Frank Berry.

Make sure to check back next week for some special end-of-the-season Ten Question Thursday specials. For now though, enjoy your time with Mr. Berry.

If not hockey, what sport would you be playing?

I'd try to start a video game league. I usually try to play [Steve] Thurston in NCAA football on the Xbox.

BTP: When we talked to Thurston he listed his hidden talent as beating you in NCAA football. Have the tides turned?

We've actually taken a little bit of a break. We haven't played in a while, but I'm going to have to start practicing so I can take him down this semester.

What is your favorite place to eat in town?

Wendy's. It's the finest food you'll find in State College.

What is your favorite class taken at Penn State?

Maybe HPA 57. I'm taking it right now with Rubeo and Kirstein and we're having a good time. It's Health Policy and Administration and it's kind of like a discussion class, so we have a good time.

Do you have any hidden talents most people don't know about?

I'm really good at drinking beverages at a fast pace.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

Vincent Lecavalier. People used to tell me that I looked like him, so I started watching him more and more. I actually went to Tampa during spring break last year and saw him score a hat trick, so that was pretty cool.

What is your favorite Coach Balboni quirk?

"Logistics." Everything's logistics to him.

In the movie of your life, who plays your girlfriend?

Jessica Alba.

Who's the best dressed guy on the team?

Dave Herel. He spends a lot of time putting himself together, and he looks good.

Who is the biggest ladies man on the team?

John Jay. I'd give it to him. I don't get to see him do his work all that often -- he's a little younger than me so he doesn't come out to the bars -- but I've heard he does well for himself.

Who has the best nickname on the team?

Aside from all of Thurston's self-proclaimed nicknames, I'll go Millsy. Timmy likes to call him "Pops," because he has to take care of him and watch him everyday.

-Dean

On Day 4 of Between The Pipes' Spring Break (and an actual Thursday, too) we bring you Ten Questions with senior defenseman and assistant captain Kyle Mills. Much like yesterday's edition with Scott Dakan, Mills received some help from teammates. Here are Mills's responses -- with Steve Thurston and Luke DeLorenzo for help.

Enjoy.

If not hockey, what sport would you be playing?

Baseball. I'd be a designated hitter. I'd sit on the bench all day and then just go out to hit a home run to win the game.

What is your favorite place to eat?

Gaetano's, back in Connecticut.

What is your favorite class taken at Penn State?

COMPSCI 203 with Will Simon. It was computer science -- I don't really know what it was about.

Do you have any hidden talents most people don't know about?

I'm very good at sleeping.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

Steve Yzerman.

Thurston: Because his name is Steve.

Yes, because I like Steve Thurston.

What is your favorite Coach Balboni quirk?

Whishy whishy pants [Balboni's name for track suit pants]. These are whishy whishy pants right now, if you were wondering.

DeLorenzo: I am also wearing whishy whishy pants.

In the movie of your life, who plays your girlfriend?

What's her name? Blonde girl. Model. Victoria Secret. She's American.

DeLorenzo: I can picture her.

I know.

DeLorenzo: Marissa Miller.

Yeah, Marissa Miller.

Who's the best dressed guy on the team?

Dave Herel.

DeLorenzo: Without a question.

He's got an eye for it.

Who is the biggest ladies man on the team?

I'd have to say Lukas over here. He's a gentleman and a scholar.

DeLorenzo: Chivalry is not dead.

Yes. Chivalry is not dead.

DeLorenzo: Kyle and I are bringing it back

Who has the best nickname on the team and the story behind it?

"Sweet Lou," and that's Thurston's nickname. I don't know why we call him that. There's no story.

-Dean

With Day 3 of Between The Pipes' Spring Break comes our Q&A with senior defenseman Scott Dakan -- and while Dakan is primarily responsible for the following responses, he occasionally received help from Brandon Rubeo (who was also sitting out practice through injury) and Luke DeLorenzo (who voiced his opinion that he should be listed as Dakan's favorite hockey player).

Over the past few editions we've heard a number of Icers list Chris Cerutti as the team's best dressed member while making fun of his Abercrombie-esque wardrobe, but for the record, Dakan was the first to tell TQT.

Enjoy.

If not hockey, what sport would you be playing?

Well, I played baseball as a kid. I always really enjoyed that. So I would say experience-wise, that's really the only one that I'm looking at.

What is your favorite place to eat in town?

Definitely McDonalds. McDonalds or Wendy's -- it's a tie between the two. We have a lot of late night stops there. It's open 24 hours. It's something that's available all the time, that's why it's No. 1.

What is your favorite class taken at Penn State?

I would have to say the KINES class that was technically "Skating with the Icers," that we got credit for freshman year. All we really had to do was go to practice and we got an automatic A.

Do you have any hidden talents most people don't know about?

I don't know of one anyone doesn't really know about, but a lot of the guys always used to give me crap for having a really long, and I guess you could say, strong neck. Freshman year we used to do a lot of neck exercises and that's one thing I got called out for, for doing a good job in. I used to get a lot of crap for that, especially from this kid down here.

DeLorenzo: It's really good.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

It's kind of cliched, but I have to say Sidney Crosby. He's so much fun to watch. Mills is going to love this. He's so much fun to watch. He just makes everything look so much easier than the other guys out there. He's just so fast and just thinks the game so much better than anyone else.

BTP: Mills is going to love that?

Mills just likes a lot of stuff that's against the grain, you could say. He's not a particular fan of Crosby. He goes more with Alexander Ovechkin, so he likes to chirp all the Crosby likers and we chirp him back for liking Ovechkin. It's just a little dual we've got going on throughout the team.

What is your favorite Coach Balboni quirk?

Well from reading the Ten Questions here and there earlier in the season, I think someone's already said "logistics," so I think I'm going to have to go with, it seems like he still has a little bit of a New England accent. Certain words he puts an 'r' where there should be an 'a.' Such as "idear" and when he's trying to say "rah," it sounds like "roar." Those are probably my favorite ones

In the movie of your life, who plays your girlfriend?

I have to say, from Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Angelina Jolie.

Who's the best dressed guy on the team?

We always joke that [Chris] Cerutti, with his hair and his chosen attire, it looks like he stole the clothes off an Abercrombie and Fitch manikin. I'm going to have to go with him for that one.

Who is the biggest ladies man on the team?

I know John Jay and Kirstein have gotten some votes for this. I definitely think Kirstein thinks he is, but he has a girlfriend, so...

Brandon Rubeo: Whoever is the heavyweight champion. Whoever wins the game.

That's true. Whoever wins the game is the heavyweight champ. But I'm going to say Rubeo. He's the dark horse of this. I'm going to go with Rubeo.

Who has the best nickname on the team?

I wish there were more guys out here, because I can't think of any off the top of my head. I like "The Grey One." Back in the day when Kirstein didn't play that much, he was always on the grey line and it kind of caught on real quickly. He was always one of those guys that was always going balls out in practice and making big plays on the penalty kill, so I'm going to go with "The Grey One."

-Dean

Day 2 of Between The Pipes' Spring Break means another TQT.

This time, we quizzed senior defenseman Brent Tranter -- when he wasn't busy blocking shots -- on all things 2008-09 Penn State ACHA Division I Icers and he was happy to oblige.

Enjoy.

If not hockey, what sport would you be playing?

I'd say either lacrosse or golf. I used to play lacrosse and I liked it a lot. There are a lot of similarities between it and hockey. Golf, because it's kind of nice and relaxing, as long as I'm not doing too bad.

What is your favorite place to eat in town?

I'd say Faccia Luna. I'm a big Italian guy and I like it.

What is your favorite class taken at Penn State?

There was a class with Sam Richards. I forget what it was, but it just talked about different races and it was basically just go, listen to him talk and they were kind of interesting stories.

Do you have any hidden talents most people don't know about?

I enjoy playing the piano. That's one that most guys don't know.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

I'd have to say Nicklas Lidstrom. He's a good defenseman. I wish I had the skill that he has. He just makes everything look so easy.

What is your favorite Coach Balboni quirk?

Probably, "Keep your head on a schwivel." I've heard that one from a couple guys. He's got a lot, but I like that one.

In the movie of your life, who plays your girlfriend?

Heidi Klum. No doubt.

Who's the best dressed guy on the team?

I don't know if he'd be best dressed, but most wildly dressed, I'd say Chris Cerutti. He's got a bunch of suits, that it almost looks like he's going to a disco ball or something like that.

Who is the biggest ladies man on the team?

I have to give it to either [Chris] Pronchik or [Matt] Kirstein. I don't know if you could really say Kirstein though, because he does have a girlfriend. [BTP's TRANSLATION: Pronchik, because Tranter feels Kirstein should be disqualified from our season-long poll.]

Who has the best nickname on the team?

I'd probably have to go with "Sweet Lou." [Steve Thurston.] I know a couple of the other guys have said that, but he gave it to himself and it kind of stuck. It works -- they even announce it at the games now.

-Dean

And so it begins, a week full of TQT.

To kick off our week, we bring you a Q&A with senior defensman Craig Brooks -- whose responses easily qualify him among the more colorful TQT interviews we've had so far.

Enjoy.

If not hockey, what sport would you be playing?

Golf, without a doubt -- just be outside in nice warm weather and much more relaxed, because every other sport besides hockey is much more relaxed. So I'd go with golf.

What is your favorite place to eat in town?

There was a good streak there where I was going to Five Guys like four days a week, which probably didn't help -- I think I was about to have a heart attack. But it's definitely my favorite place to go and just chow down a nice big, greasy burger.

What is your favorite class taken at Penn State?

I'm not a big fan of classes overall, but I think my favorite class was a sociology class. I can't remember the professor's name, but he was just kind of nutty. I really enjoyed that one. Either that, or we get 1.5 credits for KINES skating, so that's probably my favorite class.

Do you have any hidden talents most people don't know about?

I'm actually the most prolific goal scorer to ever play hockey. [BTP NOTE: Says the man with six career goals] Only my mom's seen it, like twice, but she's my mom.

Who is your favorite hockey player?

Cam Neely. I grew up a Bruins fan. He was just hard-nosed. He could score. He could fight. He was just a great hockey player. Currently though, I'd probably say Milan Lucic on the Bruins because he's the same exact player. As a defenseman, my favorite defenseman will always be Don Sweeney. I hated Ray Bourque -- he sold the team out to go to Colorado and plus I just didn't like him.

What is your favorite Coach Balboni quirk?

I've read a lot of them. They're all pretty much taken up -- saying "logistics," the mullet was great. I think my biggest quirk is when he says, "Wheels up," right when we get in the bus. When everyone's on he goes, "Wheels up." We need wheels to drive, so it always bothered me that he said that.

In the movie of your life, who plays your girlfriend?

I would say Jessica Simpson, but then everyone's saying she got fat. So I'd probably have to go with Jessica Alba.

Who's the best dressed guy on the team?

I'm a big fan of the way Taylor Cera dresses when he's got the suits, just because he looks like he's about to go out and commit serial murders. Off the ice, I guess you could say best and worst dressed, because Cerutti's got holes in his jeans. He wants to be an Abercrombie model, but he's just a failed one.

Who is the biggest ladies man on the team?

I keep seeing John Jay and I don't want to keep going with that. I'm going to go with [Matt] Kirstein, even though he's got a girlfriend. Kirstein just knows everyone. So I'd say the biggest ladies man, just because every girl seems to know him when you walk around campus with him, is Matt Kirstein.

Who has the best nickname on the team?

I'm going to go with a brand new one that we made up when we were on our way to Connecticut. We had walkie-talkies and we came up with the "Columbus Cutler" for Matt Kirstein, because all the girls just kind of flock to him and just want to hang out with him. He's from Columbus, plus he's got a girlfriend -- so as many girls as he hangs out with, even if he wanted to be THE ladies man, he couldn't. So he'd just probably cut them.

-Dean

So maybe a Between The Pipes Spring Break isn't as appealing as MTV's, but we like to thing we can at least compete.

Over spring break make sure the stop by from time to time as we'll be rolling out one TQT a day from Monday-Friday. Sound entertaining? You bet.

Next week's schedule:

Monday - Craig Brooks

Tuesday - Brent Tranter

Wednesday - Scott Dakan

Thursday - Kyle Mills

Friday - Frank Berry

Get excited it's a full week of TQT!

-Dean

This is a monumental week in the history of Ten Question Thursday. This week we come to you in audio with senior forward Mike Diethorn.

Among the highlights: Diethorn and Craig Brooks introduce us to a new nickname for their roommate Steve Thurston (a departure from the self-given "Sweet Lou") and Diethorn explains his pick for best dressed man on the team.

Enjoy. (And if you do, make sure to stop by tomorrow for our Friday Sports Centerpiece. Here's a hint, Diethorn's appearance on TQT may or may not be related.)

Also, check back shortly for news concerning the future of TQT.

-Dean

Here's a video from YouTube documenting the Icers' team dance during the Saturday of THON. The performance was voted the crowd's favorite - I think you'll see why.

-Patrick

After today's 4-1 win over Delaware to capture the ESCHL league title, we caught up with Icers senior Brandon Rubeo to talk about the injury he sustained in yesterday's win over Drexel.

Rubeo said his left ankle was caught under him awkwardly as he was hit by a Dragon. Fortunately, he said it was only a sprain, but he won't start skating again until the pain subsides. Although he used crutches for the entire weekend, Rubeo was adamant that he would be on the ice for the ACHA National Tournament, which starts March 14:

"Right now we're taking it day-to-day," Rubeo said. "I definitely plan on playing in Nationals no matter what. It should be fine by then, but even if it's not, it'll have to be."

-Patrick