The Spartans returned to Munn Ice Arena on Dec. 26 to begin preparations for the 45th annual Great Lakes Invitational, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at Joe Louis Arena.

But when they returned, MSU head coach Rick Comley found his team out of shape and looking sluggish in practice, saying “no one is in as good a shape as they were when they left.”

The result: Comley implemented strenuous two-a-day practices.

“Some are out of shape badly,” Comley said. “It takes about four skates to get that going again. I always try to be tolerant, but I’m not once I see some of them and how bad they are.”

Senior forward and co-captain Nick Sucharski said the grueling practices haven’t been fun, but they’ve been necessary to help the team find its legs and refocus on the second half of the season.

“Coach has been skating us pretty hard,” Sucharski said. “We haven’t had two-a-days in awhile. But we needed it and we did it and we got through it.”

The Spartans (12-6-2 overall, 9-3-2-0 CCHA) had a strong first half of the season and worked their way up to second place in the CCHA entering the holiday break.

MSU is hoping to keep the ball rolling in the right direction Tuesday, when the Spartans will face Michigan Tech (3-14-0) at 4:05 p.m. and with a win would advance to the championship game to take on the winner of Michigan vs. Rensselaer at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“All in all, I think we eliminated a lot of doubts about how long it might take to get back and be nationally competitive again,” Comley said of his team’s start to the season. “Now the great challenge is, can you take the next step?”

And after nearly two weeks away from the rink, Comley is hoping the Spartans are prepared to capture the GLI crown, which would be MSU’s first since 2006.

“After two weeks off, we might be a little rusty coming in,” junior forward Corey Tropp said. “We’ve got to weather the storm in the first period and make sure you get your bumps in and stick to the system. For the most part, we’ve got to take it shift by shift and work hard.”

The captain’s second-half checklist
Sucharski pointed out three things the Spartans need to do to mimic its first half success.

First, he said the team needs to play more physical.

“We need to hit more,” Sucharski said. “We do hit a lot, but finishing that first check is really important to our system.

Secondly, Sucharski said the team needs to keep feeding the puck to Tropp, who leads the nation with 16 goals and 27 points.

“You just give him the puck and he knows what to do with it.” Sucharski said of his Tropp. As long as you don’t put him in a place where his hands are buckled, you can pretty much guarantee he’s going to do something smart with it. He’s been great for us this first half.”

And finally, Sucharski said the team needs to stick to its systems and not overlook any opposing teams.

“As long as we keep going off this first half, we built a great base to let this team go as it may,” Sucharski said. “This is a perfect spot we need to be in for the second half. It’s somewhere we can choose our own destiny.”

Called to the office
It’s no secret Tropp has been carrying the goal-scoring load for the Spartans this season.

His 16 goals is far and away the most on the team, with junior forward Andrew Rowe and freshman forward Derek Grant tied in second place with seven apiece.

Of the 19 skaters who have played more than 10 games for MSU this season, 12 have two or fewer goals.

And this has Comley concerned enough to hold individual meetings with every player this week.

“I’ll go over the first half with everybody and lay out expectations and what I think they need to try and get to,” Comley said. “Sometimes freshmen spend the first semester trying to fit in and show they can play. Now you have to turn that switch for them to help them take it to the next level.”