“They had open net on a couple of their goals because of some breakdowns,“ head coach Tom Anastos said in a statement to the athletics office. “They were easy put backs, and LSSU was opportunistic. We are having breakdowns — they lead to goals. We continue to make untimely mistakes, and we’re paying for them.”

The Spartans (1-3-0, 0-2-0 CCHA) entered the weekend coming off a split in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Grand Forks, N.D., and were looking to steal a pair of road games before returning home.

In the first game on Friday, MSU would have to rally from a two-goal deficit in the first period to twice tie the game in the third period. With 1:11 to play and the game knotted at four, forward Domenic Monardo buried a shot past sophomore goalkeeper Will Yanakeff to give his team the 5-4 win.

The following night, the Spartans dug themselves into an early 3-0 hole and would need another rally to avoid the sweep. The team would get goals from sophomore defenseman Jake Chelios and a late tally from forward Greg Wolfe to bring the game within a goal. But the effort couldn’t secure the equalizer, and the team fell, 3-2.

With a tough opening stretch behind them, the Spartans return home for a Friday and Saturday meeting against Ohio State (2-2-0, 1-1-0).