They will have a case of bus legs and will be without four regulars.

But the University of Maine hockey team is used to adversity and will try to overcome it when the Bears face Cornell University in raucous Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y. Tuesday night.

The Bears have not had a full lineup this season and bus travel is a way of life for the Bears, Hockey East’s most distant family member.

Maine coach Shawn Walsh and his Bears will zig-zag the northeast this week as they follow their 10-hour trip to Cornell with a Friday night game in Providence against Brown University and a Saturday evening game at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Walsh pointed out all three teams have played in Maine the previous two seasons – Maine and Cornell tied 2-2 in Portland last season while Brown and Dartmouth visited Orono – so they owed them games at their arenas.

“With our location, we try to combine road games,” said Walsh. “It makes sense economically, travel-wise and academically.”

The Bear players will miss Monday and Tuesday classes but then the Thanksgiving break begins.

Several eastern-based players will head home for Thanksgiving and will take teammates with them before they return to the ice for a practice and the weekend games.

The team had a meal at the home of freshman right wing Todd Jackson on Monday evening. Jackson’s family lives in Cortland, N.Y. which is a 20-minute drive from Ithaca.

The road trip also gives the team a chance to bond, according to Walsh.

But his major concern is a Tuesday night lineup that will actually be short a player.

He will have four lines but just five defensemen. He said he may move senior Kevin Clauson, who is a defenseman that has been moved to left wing, back on defense if need be.

“It’s more important to have four full lines because of the way we [aggressively] go after teams,” said Walsh.

Junior defenseman Peter Metcalf twisted his knee in practice and will be out for two to three weeks, according to Walsh.

Defenseman Cliff Loya is serving the second of a two-game suspension after being picked up by police for OUI.

Right wing Niko Dimitrakos (mandatory one-game suspension for fighting and game disqualification against UMass-Lowell Friday) and left wing Brendan Donovan (kidney ailment) will be replaced in the lineup by freshmen Mike Mantenuto and Cameron Lyall.

Donovan is going to have more tests done in Boston and Walsh expects him to be out at least a week or two.

Walsh said having just 17 skaters is a rare occurrence for him.

“But we’ll be getting reinforcements [Dimitrakos and Loya] for the weekend,” said Walsh.