The scenario was all too familiar for the MSU hockey team.
Just like it had in the recent past, MSU won the first game of its weekend series but couldn't sustain the consistency needed to win the next day's game.
After claiming a 2-0 victory against UMass-Lowell on Friday, Saturday's breakdown in the third period resulted in a 3-2 loss, closing out MSU's nonconference schedule. The last time the Spartans were able to string together two weekend wins was Halloween weekend against Ferris State.
MSU head coach Rick Comley said lack of passion throughout the game contributed to the loss.
"I thought we worked hard, it's just lack of emotion drives me absolutely nuts," said Comley. "I see very limited, limitless emotion."
The first period of the weekend games nearly mirrored each other. On Friday, the Spartans (12-11-1) junior centers Lee Falardeau and Adam Nightingale found the back of the net 42 seconds apart.
The next night, however, it was the River Hawks (11-9-3) that struck early and struck twice. After killing off a 4-on-4, center Ben Walter scored the first of his two goals on MSU freshman goaltender Dominic Vicari, ending Vicari's shutout streak at 126 minutes and 45 seconds.
But things looked brighter as the Spartans crawled back slowly on junior center Jim Slater's goal to tie the game just more than four minutes into the second period. In the third, the team broke down and lost.
Walter scored his team-leading 15th goal of the season with less than three minutes to go in the game.
Returning to the Spartans over the weekend were Vicari, Nightingale, sophomore forward David Booth and sophomore defenseman Corey Potter. Nightingale came back from an ankle sprain while the other three returned with gold medals in the World Junior Championships in Finland.
River Hawks goalie John Yaros, making his first start in nearly two years, set aside 26 MSU shots to earn his third victory. A transfer from Army, Yaros had a 2-8-5 record and a 3.04 GAA in his previous 15 games.
"We were a little worried at first because I hadn't played," Yaros said. "But thank the Lord my defense played great, the forwards played great defensively and offensively so nothing to worry about. We took care of business."
The weekend split is not the first MSU has suffered - the Spartans have been plagued with inconsistency all season long, and Slater knows it.
"I can bring in a tape recorder and play it because it's the same every weekend," the junior captain said. "We win Friday night, but Saturday, you just don't get it done."
And the schedule isn't getting any easier. The Spartans travel to Ohio for the next two weeks, for games against Bowling Green and Ohio State, respectively. After posting an 8-8-1 record at Munn Ice Arena this season, MSU is looking forward to a change of scenery.
"Playing on the road's going to be good for us," Comley said. "(But) good teams win at home, for sure."
