Having won five contests in a row, including seven of the past eight, the MSU hockey team is red hot.
After making Michigan its latest victim in a 2-0 Tuesday night win, the Spartans (13-8-5 overall, 7-5-4 CCHA) have a quick turnaround and will face Nebraska-Omaha in a road series starting tonight.
The Spartans are now in a third-place CCHA tie with Lake Superior and are in the process of playing six times in two weeks.
"You just really can't take a night off," senior defenseman Jared Nightingale said. "It's important to stay on this roll. We want to get that first one at (Nebraska-Omaha) and just take it from there."
The Spartans were swept at home by the Mavericks (12-10-2, 6-8-2) the weekend of Nov. 11 but were without the likes of senior forward David Booth and freshman forward Tim Kennedy because of injuries.
"In all truthfulness, it's hard to judge this team completely, and we'll always have that question mark of what it might have got to if we hadn't lost almost two months with injuries," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "But we are together. We're getting better right now, and we've shown the ability to play in big games and do well.
"We need wins right now. It doesn't matter who they're against. The win on Tuesday against Michigan was no more important than the Saturday win against (Alaska-Fairbanks)."
This time around against the Mavericks, the Spartans will bring a full lineup to the ice. The only question mark heading into the game was the health of junior defenseman Tyler Howells, who received a vicious hit from behind by U-M defenseman Jack Johnson. Aside from receiving stitches under his mouth, Howells was in practice on Wednesday and will play this weekend.
The healthy lineup will be crucial in the Spartans' chances to avenge the sweep suffered earlier this season.
"We owe them one," sophomore forward Bryan Lerg said. "If we go and play the way we did (Tuesday), it'll be a good battle this weekend."
Although sitting near the bottom of the CCHA standings, the Mavericks have an impressive corps of offensive talent.
"I think they have the best set of forwards in the league," Comley said. "It'll be a tough weekend for us."
Forward Scott Parse paces Nebraska-Omaha with 39 points. Forward Bill Thomas is second on the team with 33 points and also will be a challenge for the MSU defense.
"They like to throw the puck out in the neutral zone, from what I remember, and go chase after it and create odd man rushes," junior defenseman Ethan Graham said. "We've just got to be ready for it."
Faceoffs are set for 8:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
