In the wake of two discouraging losses to Ohio State, the MSU hockey team doesn't have much choice except to regroup and look to the future.
But the bad news for the Spartans (5-5-0 overall, 3-3-0 CCHA) is that they face a rocky road ahead.
The sweep at OSU started a stretch where MSU will play 10 of its next 11 games away from Munn Ice Arena. The scheduling abnormality continues with a trip to Bowling Green on Friday and ends with a series at Lake Superior State on Jan. 3-4.
Couple that with the fact that more than half of MSU's roster is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, and the outlook for Spartans is ominous. The road is a tough place for young players to go through growing pains.
"This is an unbelievable stretch for a young hockey team," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "It's crazy. It's demanding on a team.
"I'll judge (our progress) more at the end of the 11 games. If you can go 5-6 or 6-5 with this young group of kids, then they'll gain some confidence after that stretch when we're at home."
By Spartan standards, splitting wins and losses is a subdued expectation for a road trip. But they might be reasonable.
This year's MSU team hasn't been the juggernaut it was during the last several seasons. Offense, defense and goaltending have all been questionable at different times, and the Spartans are losing games that would have been cakewalks in recent years.
"We're all so used to winning, that we're maybe thinking about the national championship," senior left wing Brian Maloney said. "But we're way too young to be thinking about the big prize right now.
"We've got to take each period and each game at a time."
Sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio has been one of MSU's most consistent players this season, with a 1.90 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. Still, he's expecting to see improvement in himself and his teammates.
"We're better than a .500 team, and I feel responsible for the last couple of losses," said Migliaccio. "I don't like to lose, and I don't think we should lose ever. We have that good of a team."
Keeping a team together during tough times is a responsibility that usually falls squarely on the captain, in this case, senior defenseman Brad Fast.
Through his disappointment Saturday night, Fast indicated he's aware of his new challenge - making the team focused and confident in spite of the fact that MSU is off to its worst start in 12 years.
"We have a lot of work to do," Fast said. "The only thing that's going to keep us from sliding is having a positive attitude. We have to get our talented players to start getting their noses in the thick of things."
