The sixth-ranked Spartans are in the midst of a rare eight-day, three-game stretch against three different schools at three different arenas.
Behind MSU is a 2-0 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday night.
Looming on the horizon is a main event showdown against the co-first-place Michigan Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena this Saturday.
But for the only time this season, Tuesday is a game-night this week. The Spartans (16-5-2 overall, 11-4-1 CCHA) travel to Big Rapids to face Ferris State (10-10-1, 8-8-1) at 7:05 p.m. in Ewigleben Arena.
“This is what we should be looking back to come playoff time,” MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller said. “A week like this, where we have to buckle down and play a Tuesday night game and then go to Yost - it’s three games in a row where the students really like you.”
MSU has hit plenty of potholes away from East Lansing this season - sagging to a 3-4-0 road record. But quaint Ewigleben, which seats 2,450 people, has been quite accommodating to the Spartans in the last decade.
The Spartans are 9-0-5 in their last 14 games in Big Rapids and haven’t lost there since Nov. 30, 1990. Last season, the teams skated to a 0-0 tie in their only matchup in Ewigleben.
“That’s hard to believe,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said of the 14-game unbeaten streak. “But the odds are in their favor then, aren’t they?
“And it’s going to be another environment like we had Saturday night. I mean, those environments, with those teams, create an emotionally heightened situation for them. (Ferris) will probably be as highly motivated as they have been all year.”
The Spartans already have beaten Ferris once this year - a 2-0 shutout at Munn Ice Arena on Oct. 20. The teams, which share one of the CCHA’s scheduling clusters, also play a home-and-home series in March.
With a win or a tie tonight, MSU will reclaim sole possession of first place in the CCHA. Heading to Ferris, the Spartans are tied with No. 8 U-M at 23 league points apiece. But the Wolverines have played an extra league game, which the Spartans will make up tonight.
That, and the Spartans sure don’t want to drag a two-game losing streak to Ann Arbor on Saturday.
“We need to get back to the winning ways we had earlier this season,” senior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson said. “We’ve had a tough season on the road so far, so getting points out of this game is going to be huge later on in the season.”
Ferris looks to the dynamic duo of right wing Rob Collins and left wing Chris Kunitz for most of its offensive production. Collins boasts a CCHA-best 27 points in league games and has 33 overall (10 goals, 23 assists).
Kunitz has been on the receiving end of more than a few Collins assists, and has knocked in 19 goals this year. By contrast, senior right wing Adam Hall leads MSU with 11 goals.
Many Spartan fans are hoping Miller can break out of a minislump and shut down the dangerous Bulldogs, just like he did in October. Miller, the all-time NCAA shutouts leader, hasn’t blanked a team in over a month and is 3-2-0 with a 2.35 goals against average and .900 saves percentage.
“I think I’ve been playing fine,” Miller said. “I’m not looking at it in terms of numbers. Numbers, in terms of what? A perfect game?
“We just want to get two points out of Ferris. They play us tough every time we play them and we know we’re in for a fight.”
Injury report: Sophomore defenseman Joe Markusen practiced Monday after missing Saturday’s game with a chest contusion. He said he will “probably” play tonight.
