Consistency in its own building will be the goal of the MSU hockey team when the Spartans hit the ice for another season with a pair of games at Munn Ice Arena.
"I think it'll be a good weekend of hockey," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "They'll both be good tests for us. It's a major step up over what we saw last weekend."
MSU opens the season at 7:35 p.m. tonight against MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason's alma mater, St. Lawrence.
The Saints bring a 0-1-1 record, tying St. Cloud State before losing to MSU's Sunday foe, New Hampshire, in the championship game of the Ice Breaker Tournament.
"Early in the season, we need to work together and communicate out there," sophomore defenseman Chris Snavely said. "We need to do what we're capable of doing."
Even though St. Lawrence has played two regular season games to MSU's none, neither team will hold a scouting advantage going into the game.
"I've seen one tape (of St. Lawrence) on an Olympic-sized ice sheet," Comley said. "Style of play we can see, but you can't tell much about individuals. You're going in blind, as they are."
Sunday, No. 8 New Hampshire (2-0-0) comes to Munn to face No. 7 MSU.
In the Ice Breaker Tournament, New Hampshire also took out MSU's CCHA-foe Ohio State.
"They're a highly skilled team," Comley said. "They compete for a lot of really good kids. They can score goals, they'll have a good power play."
A big factor in the games will be the power play. Comley said with a little bit of work, his team's power play can excel.
"We have to keep it simple, get the puck to the net and have traffic in front," Comley said.
The team's offense, which poured in seven goals against Toronto on Sunday, will need to work together to score.
"We've got a real good offense," sophomore forward Tommy Goebel said. "If every line does their job and everybody plays their game, we'll be all right."
After losing, 4-3, to Findlay in its season opener last year, MSU knows that they have something to prove at Munn.
"We have to get rid of some demons and show we're going to win in this building," Comley said.
