“It was great to hear my name announced,” Ebbing said. “I feel like I’ve gained a lot of respect from the underclassmen, even the kids in my grade … It’s an accomplishment but I’m not gonna take it for granted. Hopefully we can make the most out of this year."

The team thus far hasn’t started their regular season schedule, but they’ve had the chance to hit the ice twice in a game scenario. Their most recent opportunity was in the Green-White scrimmage, where the players split up into two teams. The Green Team took down the White Team, 5-2.

While classes started in late-August at MSU, the team only recently started practicing for the upcoming season. Their first practice was the day before their exhibition win over the University of Toronto.

“September’s a long month for us,” Ebbing said. “Everybody’s been wanting to play. The exhibition games were great, but now they’re ready for the regular season … I think everybody’s getting really ready for this weekend, everybody’s amped up and we’re excited to get going.”

Looking toward their game against the Lakers, the Spartans will be playing on the road during some festivities at Taffy Abel Arena. The foes will be hosting their annual Great Lake State Weekend homecoming event.

“(Lake Superior State) will have a lot of hoopla in their own series,” Anastos said. “I think it’s a good environment for us to get exposed to and have to deal with.”

As the new season gets mixed with the Spartans’ youth, the first-game jitters could affect the team’s mentality. Senior Joe Cox said keeping the emotions in check will be important as MSU faces its opponent.

“The key (to staying relaxed) is to not think about it too much,” Cox said. “Don’t let those jitters and don’t really seize up, kind of just relax. A lot of these guys have been playing this game for almost 20 years so you know, they should treat it like just another game.”

Since the Lakers and Spartans met last season, Cox has experience playing against the Lakers. But when going up against another team in Michigan, Cox said there’s a little bit of an extra edge to the games.

“I think it’s part of that in-state rivalry,” Cox said. “Any time you play another team from Michigan there’s that kind of rivalry going on, so everyone gets up for the game. I know we’re really excited for it, and going into their home barn I know they’re going to be really excited for it, too. So it’s just going to make for a really good game.”

While the Spartans will look to the weekend in anticipation, Cox has said that he likes the overall makeup of his team. There hasn’t been much practice because of NCAA standards, but the team has worked on its chemistry and team-building.

“I think this team has a lot of potential,” Cox said. “Over the past couple weeks we’ve just kind of worked on our systems, trying to get down those so we can lead into this weekend. I think for the most part, the guys have done a really good job adjusting to playing in the new systems and executing them.”

The first game between the Spartans and Lakers will be at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 14. The next match will be at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. Both games will be available on radio at Spartan Sports Network.