Can Penn State Once Again Rise to the Top of the ACHA?

For years, The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lion Icers have consistently traveled to the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I National Championships. In the past nine years, they have played in the championship game nine times. They won five of those.

At the close of last year's hockey season, the Icers lost their head coach, Joe Battista, nicknamed Joe-Ba. Throughout his career, Battista has led the Icers to multiple championships.

Battista could do little wrong when it came to winning games, but then, he abandoned his post, and many wondered how the team would fare without him steering the journey. New at the helm was former assistant Scott Balboni.

After being ACHA champions four years in a row between 1999 and 2003, the Icers have not since managed to win the big game. They have consistently placed second each consecutive time, losing to Ohio, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Rhode Island again. This year, Coach Balboni considers these three times to still be big contenders for the title.

The Nittany Lion Icers have created a 28-7-0 (25-5-0 ACHA) record and outscored their opponents 149 - 71. At home, they lost three times. Could they once again become kings of the hill? Only time would tell. On Wednesday, the 28^th of February, their future began.

Entering the championships as the number one team in the ACHA, they would ultimately face the number sixteen seed. To begin the competition, Penn State squared off against Robert Morris (Pennsylvania).

In a very tight game, the two teams went into overtime. Penn State barely managed to come out with their 2-1 victory. The win led them into the quarterfinals the following night. They were able to edge out another 2-1 win, this time against #8 Liberty.

After getting a break from play on Friday, the remaining four teams will enter the semi-final matches later today. At 1:00 p.m. EST, Penn State will play #12 Delaware. Not their first meeting, the Icers have defeated Delaware twice before this season by scores of 3-1 and 10-3. However, this doesn't mean the game will be easy.

Earlier in the tournament, Delaware beat one of the seven teams who managed to score a win against Penn State this season, Oklahoma.

A win for Penn State could provide an opportunity for revenge on another team, Oakland, who outscored the Icers 4-1 earlier in the season. The only other team left in the tournament is Illinois, and although Penn State has not yet faced Illinois this season, they would still welcome the opportunity to prove their worth against the Fighting Illini, having lost the tournament to them only two years ago.

The championship game is schedule to take place tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. EST.