With a satisfied look on his face, head coach Rick Comley stood on the ice, clapping as his players acknowledged the crowd following their 5-0 shutout over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night.

After struggling since the beginning of the season to string together back-to-back wins, the MSU hockey team finally completed its first home sweep of the season.

The Spartans (20-15-1, 16-9-1 CCHA) also have won five of their past six contests.

"We've been inching and inching along and had not been far away from getting back-to-back wins at home in quite a while," Comley said. "We tried to get to this point several times. This is a team that's been scrutinized against - a team that's settled into who can do what, and it's taken a while for that to happen."

What pleased Comley the most was his team's balanced effort in its two wins. MSU also won Friday, 3-0.

"They came out with more jump, but we got better as the game went along. We were better overall, speedwise," he said. "We killed penalties very well again; Dom was outstanding in goal and we got a couple of big power-play goals."

The crowd of 6,678 at Munn Ice Arena gave freshman goaltender Dominic Vicari a standing ovation after he glanced behind him to see if he had let in a goal, but still had ahold of the puck.

The Clinton Township native pitched a shutout over the Mavericks both nights with his combined 56 saves.

MSU's two blankings were the first since 2001, when Ryan Miller backstopped the Spartans on Nov. 16-17 to 3-0 and 2-0 victories over Miami (Ohio).

Vicari said he had not been in top shape since MSU's split against Michigan on Dec. 5-6, but felt focused and sharp against Nebraska-Omaha.

"I felt great right from the get-go. I just had that 'zone' feeling before the puck dropped Friday night, and it carried over to (Saturday)," Vicari said.

"It's been tough to put together a weekend here - it's been like a curse almost, but it's good to break it up."

The first-line combination of junior Mike Lalonde on left wing, junior captain Jim Slater at center and freshman Tommy Goebel on right wing dominated the Spartans' offense.

The three combined for 13 points during the weekend sweep.

"When you play with those guys, you're going to have a lot of opportunities," Goebel said. "Right now, we're finding the holes to put it in the net."

Freshman forward Drew Miller and junior forward Kevin Estrada both earned game disqualifications, following junior forward Lee Falardeau's goal Saturday in the third period to put the Spartans up by five.

Fights and scrummages broke out in front of the Nebraska-Omaha net after Mavericks defenseman Bobby Henderson punched Miller. Henderson and Dan Hacker received game disqualifications for the last-place Mavericks.

Comley berated Henderson during the post-game conference.

"Their kid runs around like a wild man - he should've had three majors. Somebody scores a goal and their kid comes in and almost takes (Miller's) head off," Comley said. "Without him, nothing happens. It was one person, one player."

"When someone punches at you, you want to protect yourself. That play belongs in the beer league back in Vancouver (British Columbia), not in college hockey."

However, Comley was quick to say he did not blame Mavericks head coach Mike Kemp for the actions of his players.

"He didn't send them out to do anything. When (players are) on the ice, you can't reach out and grab them," Comley said.

"We lose two good hockey players to go against Michigan, in a game that might be for first place."

The Spartans have now moved ahead of Miami (Ohio) by one point in the conference standings. The RedHawks were idle, so they have two games in hand.

MSU has the week off to prepare for its final regular home-season contest against U-M at 8:05 p.m. March 5, which is also Senior Night.

The Spartans take on the Wolverines again the following night at 7:35 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to close out the regular season. With Saturday's win, MSU has home ice for the first-round playoffs March 12-14.

"With Dom shutting the door both nights, guys stepping up in different roles, it was a good weekend for us," Slater said. "Now, we have the week off to rest and relax and get ready for Michigan. It's going to be a huge weekend."