Even before the third period began on Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Ind., the playoff fate was sealed for the No. 13 MSU hockey team.
Due to the 2-0 loss on the previous night, the Spartans left positioning in the upcoming CCHA Tournament up to other conference teams — needing losses by Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan (and getting neither). Before the bus home even was warmed up, the Spartans were locked into the fifth spot in the CCHA and earned a date with Miami (Ohio) during the weekend of March 9-11.
In part, the team backed into the playoffs.
Like every one of the famous Baldwin brothers not named Alec, the Spartans had a chance to do something great, but ultimately fell victim to their own shortcomings.
When your team is undersized, under-skilled and ultimately very average, there’s no room to play less than your best. The Spartans did, and it will cost them.
“You get what you got coming to you,” MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. “We had plenty of chances to secure home ice. We have to live with it. It’s now the playoffs. It’s an entirely different season.”
Beating the Fighting Irish on Saturday is good for morale and will go a long way to securing an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. But it doesn’t quite help playoff chances by having to go on the road in the series with the RedHawks.
Now the Spartans will have to rise to the challenge in a three-game series against a talented Miami (Ohio) team. The Spartans were swept by the RedHawks at home in the team’s first series of 2012 and generally were outplayed by the CCHA’s most underrated hockey squad.
It won’t be an easy series.
But what this weekend proved more than anything else is the ability this team has to rebound in the face of adversity. Whether the adversity comes on an off night from the Spartans or from the difficulty of the opponent, MSU has proven they have what it takes to make a playoff run.
MSU has wins this season against Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, then-No. 3 Minnesota and Ohio State en route to a 19-13-4 overall record with a 14-11-3-2 mark in the conference. The résumé is there.
Losing home-ice advantage and having to play the RedHawks in a short best-of-three series makes it more difficult, but it’s not impossible. This team realizes that.
Unlike last year’s team — which had to go on the road in Alaska as the No. 10 seed and were swept in two games — the 2011-12 version of the MSU hockey team has the tools and the style of play to make a deep run.
But in a best-of-three series, the margin of error is next to none. Games like the unenthusiastic loss on Friday against Notre Dame just can’t happen.
At the end of the day, the playoff destiny was decided by others for the Spartans. But what happens next is entirely up to them.
Dillon Davis is the hockey reporter for The State News. He can be reached at davisdi4@msu.edu.
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