Away from the ice rink, Tommy Goebel is a mess.

The aforementioned statement might seem off to those who have seen the freshman forward's play in the past week, especially after he was awarded CCHA Offensive Player of the Week. Last weekend, the Cleveland-area native notched five goals, including a hat trick Friday, in the MSU hockey team's series sweep of Ferris State en route to his conference recognition.

"I was pretty excited, especially when you get two wins out of it," Goebel said of winning the award. "It's one thing if you're 0-2 and you win it, but if you get two wins, it's a pretty big positive. It's something to be happy about, a good accomplishment, but it's not like winning a national championship or anything."

Goal scoring and awards aside, Goebel's locker-room etiquette contrasts his hockey abilities, as the MSU rookie continually is fined by the team for the lack of cleanliness he brings to the Spartans' shared space.

"For how good he is on the ice playing his position, he's not real good with his locker - keeping it clean," junior captain Jim Slater said. "His shoes are on the other side of the room, or his equipment ends up somewhere, usually always in my stall, so he's a pretty messy kid in the locker room."

It's an ironic tale of sorts that Goebel's mess usually piles up in Slater's quarters, because the forwards seem to be sharing a lot of space recently. Well, in one particular statistical category - goal scoring.

Heading into the Ferris State series, Goebel had registered just two goals on the season, against Minnesota-Duluth and at Western Michigan, respectively, but his five tallies last weekend tied him with Slater for the team and conference lead. They both have seven goals apiece.

The stats column is not the only place Goebel is sided with Slater, as last weekend's five goals were grossed skating the top line with Slater and junior assistant captain Mike Lalonde.

"For a freshman to come here and come on the top line like he did speaks real volumes of him," Slater said.

Lalonde agrees that playing with Goebel makes his job easier.

"It's pretty much a pleasure for me to play with (Goebel) and, of course, Slater like that," Lalonde said. "They are both very good players and it looks good on me to play with those guys."

When Goebel was recruited to MSU, the so-called experts rated his stock less than the players entering college with him, MSU head coach Rick Comley said. But Comley said the potential for Goebel to be a good college player was evident as a junior hockey player for the Cleveland Barons of the NAHL, but even he didn't expect his freshman to produce so much so early.

"It doesn't surprise me he's having success, but certainly seven goals is a lot," Comley said. "We certainly thought he was going to be one of the best freshmen in the country, and he's certainly living up to that."

And at 5-foot-7, a height Comley thinks twice about when mentioned, the excitement Goebel brings to Munn Ice Arena has been evident all year. This excitement, specifically Goebel's skating speed and ability to produce offensive opportunities, have led Comley to compare him to 5-7 New Jersey Devils' forward Brian Gionta, who played college hockey at Boston College.

"He's certainly crowd pleasing because he's small and quick," Comley said. "He's very strong. Pound for pound he's as tough as anybody. He's probably our most physical player on a consistent basis. Size doesn't affect him, and you certainly couldn't put a team together of forwards that are 5-foot-6, but you can have three or four, and if they're strong and tough, size doesn't matter."

Goebel's abilities in the Spartans' offense have been a pleasant, and somewhat suspected, surprise at this point. With two home contests against Notre Dame this weekend, Goebel's coaches and teammates hope that his mess-making ways stay in the locker room and his goal scoring keeps the Spartans climbing up the CCHA standings.

"He's making his own mark for himself," Slater said. "He's going to be a great player here for years to come, and he's going to make his own legacy."