The wounded Spartans return to the comfort of Munn Ice Arena tonight, confident they can bounce back from their first two losses of the season.
No. 3 MSU (3-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 CCHA) hosts Bowling Green (1-3-2, 1-2-1) for the team’s first series since being swept on the road by No. 6 Nebraska-Omaha on Friday and Saturday.
Tonight’s game against the Falcons starts at 7:05.
“This is huge for us,” freshman left wing Mike Lalonde said. “We’ve got four big points here, and we just need to get our composure and get the team’s confidence back.
“I know there are a lot of individuals, myself included, that feel we can play a lot better.”
Junior goaltender Ryan Miller is also looking for some vindication this week, after suffering one of his worst career series at Omaha.
Miller, who won the Hobey Baker Award last season, allowed four goals in both games against the Mavericks and was pulled from Saturday’s contest after stopping only 12 of 16 shots.
But he says all is well in his crease.
“I didn’t have class afterward, so I got to spend an extra half hour in the rink today,” Miller said after Tuesday’s practice. “I started to feel a little better, got into a rhythm. I just have to get back in the routine.
“We have to get back to the things Spartans are known for - good, solid defense and our offense is going to come.”
MSU head coach Ron Mason said he was pleased with the effort the Spartans showed at Omaha, but decided the Spartans needed a shake up for this week’s series.
Mason rearranged all four of MSU’s lines for the week’s shortened practice schedule, searching for a favorable mixture.
Freshman Brock Radunske skated on MSU’s top line with freshman center Jim Slater and senior right wing Adam Hall at Wednesday’s practice, displacing junior left wing Brian Maloney.
Maloney played with freshman center Ash Goldie and junior right wing Steve Jackson, bumping freshman left wing Kevin Estrada up to a line with sophomore center Tim Hearon and junior right wing Troy Ferguson.
The remaining three skaters - freshman Lee Falardeau, senior Joe Goodenow and Lalonde - are all left-handed shooters, but will form a line with Lalonde moving to right wing.
“In the games right now, we’re not set units like we were last year,” Mason said. “We’ve got so many young guys breaking in, I’m probably going to have to be like (Detroit Red Wings head coach) Scotty Bowman, changing lines all the time.
“I don’t think it’s going to be much of a problem this early in the year. But as time goes along, if things seem to complement each other, I may fall into a little more of a pattern.”
Mason hopes the new offensive combos provide an offensive spark after the Spartans outshot Omaha both games but couldn’t crack Maverick goaltender Dan Ellis.
Tonight’s opposing netminder shouldn’t be any more accommodating to the Spartans, however. Bowling Green’s Tyler Masters owns a 2.95 goals against average and .905 saves percentage in four league games and helped carry the Falcons to the CCHA Tournament semifinals last season.
The Falcons split their series with Ohio State last weekend, but their season-opening 9-1 loss to No. 13 Maine on Oct. 12 indicates they aren’t quite with the nation’s elite programs.
“You know, they don’t have a very well-known program and they do want to be up on the rise like everyone else,” Lalonde said. “They’re going to come in here, work hard and do anything they can to keep us on the downslide.”
