Although the Spartans posted an impressive regular season, everything is on the line as the CCHA Tournament approaches. MSU still is a bubble team trying to earn an at-large bid into the 16-team NCAA Tournament. And they likely will need a deep run in the conference playoffs to receive an invite to the “big dance.”

Here’s a look at the Spartans’ regular season grades as they prepare for the CCHA Tournament:

Offense

It hasn’t taken much to be better than last season. In 2008-09, the Spartans averaged 1.61 goals a game, which was the worst in the nation. This season, MSU has almost doubled that figure, averaging 3.08 goals a game.

The key to the Spartans’ offense has been its depth. MSU head coach Rick Comley can roll all four lines with confidence. During several games this season, the third and fourth lines were much more effective than the first and second.

Junior forward Corey Tropp has proven to be one of the most dynamic forwards in the country and is the only CCHA player to reach the 20-goal plateau. His offensive production is crucial to the Spartans’ playoff success.

Since winter break, MSU been outshot in 11 of their past 14 games. MSU needs to crank up the offense in the playoffs.

Grade: A-

Defense

The Spartans have one of the best defensive pairings in the country in junior Jeff Petry and freshman Torey Krug.

Both are very offensive-minded and have shown the ability to get up ice and cause commotion. Petry is tied with Tropp for the team lead in assists with 22. Krug isn’t far behind, with 16.

Comley continually has said sophomore Matt Crandell is the most improved player from last year. He looks much stronger and more relaxed with the puck this season.

The freshman pairing of Zach Josepher and Matt Grassi also has been solid for MSU. The two have a great feel for where each other are on the ice, which could come from their being close friends and roommates.

The Spartans’ new system is designed to slow opposing offenses through the neutral zone and force them to the outside and it’s worked well throughout the regular season.

Grade: B

Goaltending

Goaltending was one of the biggest question marks entering this season.

No one knew if sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano would be able to fill the shoes of Jeff Lerg. So far, Palmisano has done a solid job between the pipes.

The Spartans’ system gives up a lot of shots from the outside.

This allows Palmisano to keep busy throughout the game and not get cold in goal.

One of Palmisano’s most untalked about qualities is his ability to draw penalties. It seems as though at least once in every series he puts himself in a position to get clipped by an opposing forward, and he sells it well.

The only negative with Palmisano has been his performance in shootouts. He is 1-4 and has struggled locking up the extra point for the Spartans, points which could have been huge down the stretch of the season.

But let’s keep in mind he’s a sophomore and only will get better.

Grade: B

Coaching

You’ve got to love what the coaching staff did in preparation for this season.

It was evident early last season the team was going to struggle. So the coaching staff hit the road and brought in a freshman class that has been shockingly strong.

The motto was simple during the recruiting process — bigger, stronger and older — and those combinations have made the difference this year.

The coaching staff traveled far and wide, even into the depths of Canada, to bring in an impressive freshmen class that has made an immediate impact.

Keeping the lines relatively consistent also has been a key decision by Comley this season. Last year, predicting the line combinations had about the same odds as winning the lottery. This season, everyone knows who they are playing with and chemistry has developed with each line.

The turnaround has been drastic, much to the thanks of the coaching staff.

Grade: A-

Special teams

This has been the problem area for the Spartans this season.

MSU’s power play sits in eighth place in the conference, converting at 18.0 percent. And the penalty kill hasn’t been much better, killing 83.2 percent of penalties, which has MSU in ninth place in the conference.

But the Spartans’ power play looked solid last weekend against Bowling Green. MSU was moving the puck well and generating loads of scoring chances.

After rolling all four lines on the power play earlier in the season, Comley finally seems to be sticking to two power play units. I’m a big fan of putting sophomore forward Brett Perlini on the power play, despite his usual place on MSU’s third line. If he gets open anywhere in the slot, he’s extremely dangerous. Plus, his faceoff skills have been a huge asset to the first power-play unit.

MSU’s penalty kill has struggled as of late, but it hasn’t been because of a lack of effort. It just seems like the Spartans can’t get any puck luck when on the kill.

Special teams need to be cleaned up this week before the playoffs start. If not, MSU’s season could come to an end sooner, rather than later.

Grade: C

Alex DiFilippo is the State News hockey reporter. He can be reached at difilip3@msu.edu.