Every once in a while, the thought creeps into Troy Ferguson's mind.

He always pushes the notion out of his consciousness as quickly as possible, but he knows it's the truth: His career as an MSU hockey player could end in Detroit this weekend.

Especially if the fourth-seeded Spartans stumble tonight against No. 5 seed Northern Michigan in a CCHA Tournament quarterfinal at 7:35 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena.

Ferguson, a senior forward, and the rest of the senior class have to beat the Wildcats tonight and then probably win at least one other game in this weekend's CCHA Super Six Championship to extend their collegiate careers into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time.

"You don't want to think about that too much," Ferguson said. "If you don't win the first one, you're not going to get a chance to win any more, so we have to take it a period at a time. It's going to be tough."

MSU (23-13-2) hasn't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1993, but the Spartans are on the bubble for an at-large bid this year. Given their precarious position, there is tremendous importance on tonight's quarterfinal tilt with the Wildcats (20-16-2).

A win will give the Spartans two more games - Friday and Saturday - to prove their worth. A loss, and the season is over.

MSU and Northern split their season series this year, 2-2-0, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. MSU head coach Rick Comley has said he thinks the Wildcats boast the best collection of forwards in the nation.

The group is led by four seniors - Chris Gobert (44 points), Mike Stutzel (40), Bryce Cockburn (33) and Terry Harrison (31). The quartet led Northern to a shocking 10-4 win over MSU in October and has helped the Wildcats average 4.75 goals a game against the Spartans this season.

"That team was built to score," said Comley, Northern's former head coach of 26 years. "And they can do it in a variety of ways."

MSU sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio, who is 15-4-1 in 2003, knows the onus is on him to slow down the Wildcats tonight.

"They can score at will," Migliaccio said. "They're especially dangerous on the power play. Hopefully, I can have my best game coming up."

In its own zone, Northern uses five freshman defensemen - something MSU hopes to exploit. Tonight will be the Wildcats' first taste of Joe Louis, the home of the Detroit Red Wings, this season. MSU, on the other hand, plays regularly at the Joe and knows how intimidating the arena can be for first-timers.

"I think it is an advantage," Ferguson said. "I remember my first time there as a freshman, there are some jitters that you have to get rid of."

The red-hot Spartans are averaging 5.3 goals in their last nine contests. Tonight, MSU's offense will have to crack eccentric Northern goaltender Craig Kowalski to keep that success going. When Kowalski is on his game, he is as good as anyone in the nation. The Spartans saw that for themselves Feb. 22 when the goalie overcame a 42-14 shot disadvantage to lead Northern to a 4-2 win at Munn Ice Arena.

"You have to have traffic in front of him and around him," Comley said. "He's been very inconsistent and, over time, we've shown an ability to score on him.

"You just have to try to prevent him from seeing the puck."

If the Spartans want to take themselves off the NCAA bubble, they would have to win the Super Six this weekend, gaining the CCHA's automatic bid to the tournament. To do so, MSU will have to pull off a feat not often accomplished in college hockey - winning three games in three days. With a victory tonight, MSU would play either No. 1 seed Ferris State or No. 2 seed Michigan in the semifinals Friday. Depending on that outcome, MSU would enter either the championship game or inaugural consolation game Saturday.

Of course, Comley isn't looking that far ahead.

"You have to be really careful about thinking in terms of two and three," Comley said. "You have to put everything you have into the one game (tonight) and take it from there.

"I think we've arrived and we're ready."

CCHA awards

Three Spartans won league accolades at the CCHA Awards Banquet on Wednesday night. Senior John-Michael Liles was named CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman for the second straight year.

Senior Brad Fast took home Best Defensive Defenseman honors and senior left wing Brian Maloney won the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award for overcoming personal adversity and helping out in the community.