There's no "I" in "team," but superb performances by individual players were the driving forces behind MSU's commanding sweep of Nebraska-Omaha this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.

Senior left wing Brian Maloney, who had two goals in 21 games before the series, scored three goals and added an assist this weekend. Sophomore left wing Kevin Estrada had one goal in 17 games coming in, but he tripled that total with a pair of tallies against the Mavericks.

Sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio won both games in net, 5-2 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday. His shutout in the finale was the third blanking of his career - and the first against a team other than Lake Superior State.

And then there was sophomore center Jim Slater, who posted a career-best five points - a goal and four assists - in Saturday's rout. His point output was the most by a Spartan since Steve Ferranti had five against Western Ontario on Oct. 12, 1996.

Slater, who also had an assist Friday, leads MSU (13-9-1 overall, 9-6-0 CCHA) with 28 points this season.

"It's a great feeling whenever you score - probably the best feeling you ever can get," said Slater, who was named the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. "Coach (Rick) Comley kept with his system and we kind of all bought into it. It's finally starting to click, and this is when you need it to click. We're going forward in great directions."

With the sweep, the Spartans climbed into a four-way tie for fourth place in the CCHA standings. Just two weeks ago, they were mired in 10th.

"It was great. A great game, a great weekend," Comley said. "It's quality of play, the consistency of play - steady in goal, balanced scoring, not too many odd-man rushes. The last couple games were a combination of good offense and good defense."

After falling behind 2-0 in the series-opener, the Spartans rattled off 12 unanswered goals to dispose of the depleted Mavericks (8-13-3, 6-11-1). Omaha was without three of its top four players for significant portions of the weekend. Defenseman Greg Zanon didn't play at all, while both forward Andrew Wong and goaltender Dan Ellis were hurt Friday and sat out Saturday.

Without them, Omaha couldn't slow down the streaking Spartans, led by Maloney.

Comley said the senior's confidence on the ice after his offensive outburst was "the best thing that could have happened to us."

"His leadership has been great, especially from Christmas on," Comley said. "I think good people get rewarded, and Brian Maloney is a good person and a good player. He worked hard, never complained, cared about the team first and now the puck's starting to go in."

For Maloney, the weekend served as an exorcism of the offensive-drought demons that have haunted him this year.

"It was a big relief," Maloney said. "If I knew the answer (for the slump), I would have started the season scoring. Maybe I was gripping the stick a little tight there. I just (had to) relax and pick my spots and trust my shot.

"I do a lot of talking in the locker room, so I kind of have to back it up."

Powered by a pair of goals from both Maloney and freshman left wing David Booth, the Spartans matched their season-high goal total Saturday. They also scored seven against Lake Superior on Oct. 24.