Today, the Arizona Icecats leave the friendly confines of the Tucson Convention Center Arena for the first time this young season to face a pair of highly regarded teams in need of wins.

No. 10 Arizona (3-0-1) plays at No. 14 Towson (7-4-1) tomorrow and at the 27th-ranked Naval Academy (3-9-0) Friday and Saturday.

Both the Tigers and Midshipmen are coming off losses - Towson to No. 1 Penn State and Navy to No. 8 Rhode Island.

"Our backs are against the wall, no question about it," Midshipman senior co-captain J.D. Walker said in a press release.

In the power rankings that Arizona released, Towson is No. 12 and Navy is No. 25, while the Icecats rank themselves No. 8.

The Icecats may find it difficult to score on Towson senior goalie Kevin Birnstill, the American Collegiate Hockey Association's Player of the Week two weeks ago.