Head coach Rick Comley finds this year's schedule to be an improvement over last year's.
The 2003-04 ice hockey schedule, released Wednesday, offers numerous chances to see the Spartans at Munn Ice Arena.
"Last year we only had 17 home games," Comley said. "And only five of the first 19 games were at home. It was road heavy to begin with."
But this year hockey fans will be able to see the icers 24 times at home.
The schedule features 40 games in all, including special home matchups such as the annual Green and White game Oct. 3, the Ice Breaker Tournament, the College Hockey Showcase and two home matchups against longtime rival Michigan.
"It's great that Michigan is coming here twice," Comley said. "It's a natural rival."
The Spartans' regular season opens when they host the Ice Breaker Tournament at Munn Ice Arena on Oct. 10-11.
The tournament's matchups include Boston College vs. Minnesota-Duluth and MSU vs. Findlay.
"I'm looking forward to Boston College," Comley said. "And we have Ohio State here. We play them four times. They're one of the better teams in the conference."
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association breaks the conference into six "rivalry pairings" that are further divided into three groups of four teams.
Schools then play other teams in the CCHA four times during the regular season and eventually square off twice against the league's remaining eight schools. MSU is paired against U-M.
Comley said he prefers the lineup of teams in this year's schedule.
"This year we just have a better balance," Comley said. "We have more home games and a better quality of opponents."
MSU will face some different tournaments and teams this season, including Boston College, University of Massachusetts, Wayne State and Minnesota.
On Thanksgiving weekend, the Spartans will participate in the 11th annual College Hockey Showcase.
On Nov. 28 MSU faces defending NCAA champion Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The last two times the schools played each other it ended in 4-4 overtime deadlocks.
"They are the defending champions," Comley said. "They should be a tremendous team to play."
