“You never prove yourself after one weekend,” Comley said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “That takes six, eight or 10 games.”

But scoring 10 goals in two games did leave a good taste in the Spartans’ mouths entering practices this week.

“It’s a definite confidence booster for us,” said freshman forward Derek Grant, who was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week after scoring two goals and recording two assists this weekend.

“Everyone around the league almost had a negative feeling (about our team) coming into this year because of the season last year. But I think everyone is feeling really positive now.”

This weekend, MSU heads to Maine — the first road trip of the season. And with the Black Bears dropping their first two games of the year against Union this weekend, the Spartans expect a hostile environment when they arrive in Orono, Maine.

“It’s going to be fun,” Grant said. “It’s going to be a new experience for me and a lot of the guys. We have to not worry about the crowd. I know it’s a pretty intense atmosphere, but we have to stay focused.”

With freshmen recording 13 points this weekend, junior forward Dustin Gazley said it’s important for the 20 underclassmen to become comfortable playing on the road, especially with the Spartans traveling to Miami (Ohio) next weekend to open conference play with a two-game series in Oxford, Ohio.

“We have to play better on the road than we do at home,” Gazley said. “We just have to do whatever we can to get the win, especially with the new guys coming in. It’s their first game on the road and it’s important for them to get in and settle down and do what they can to help us out.”

Comley is counting on Gazley and the rest of the junior class to keep their offensive production rolling this weekend after recording 11 points against Clarkson.

“I think the juniors are settling down and really showing us they are going to be better than a year ago,” Comley said.

“If that happens, it takes a lot of pressure off everybody else.”