The celebration of a CCHA playoff championship stopped last Sunday when the Spartans huddled inside of Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, to watch as they were awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans (24-11-8) watched the selection show to find they were placed in the Albany regional and are set to face New Hampshire in the opening round. The team's focus is now switched from celebration to preparation.
"We've got to live in the future now," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "As good as this (past) weekend was, you've got to let it go and get by it."
But if the Spartans hope to advance to the regional finals either against Maine or Harvard, they'll first have to beat No. 13 New Hampshire.
Leading the Wildcats (20-12-7) in scoring is forward Jacob Micflikier, who has compiled 42 points on the season, which equals the point totals from MSU's leading scorer, junior captain Drew Miller.
New Hampshire brings a balanced lineup into the game, having 13 players who have scored 10 points or more on the season and two goaltenders in Jeff Pietrasiak and Kevin Regan, who share relatively equal numbers and both starts.
Aside from the statistics, the Wildcats are entering the game with a chip on their shoulders after losing 9-2 to Boston in their previous game.
"There's not a doubt in my mind how we stack up; we just have to play," Comley said.
"I'm not really worried about a lot of things. They've (MSU) proven to us that they'll play, that they'll come, that they'll react, that they'll battle."
Hockey history between the Spartans and Wildcats has been brief. The teams will face off for the 10th time this weekend, with New Hampshire claiming a 6-3-0 edge against the Green and White in the all-time series.
"It's a whole new tournament," junior defenseman Ethan Graham said. "You have to forget about the past. It's the NCAAs and it's not the regular season or the CCHA playoffs anymore."
The last time the Spartans played in the NCAA Tournament, it resulted in an opening-round 5-0 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in 2004.
"A 5-0 loss is definitely not a good experience, but it was an experience in the national tournament," Miller said. "You take what you can out of a loss like that."
But this year the Spartans are riding the momentum of the CCHA Championship into the tournament and have appeared to form a sense of identity as a team in their 16-3-3 run the second half of the season.
"You got to win or you go home," freshman forward Justin Abdelkader said. "If you don't win, you're done.
"Everyone's really excited and we just want to get out there and play that game."
One other thing the Spartans are psyched about is how their success has been thrust into the local spotlight. Now with men's basketball out of the picture, the Spartans have gained much more attention.
"It's always been football and basketball and finally when hockey starts winning, we get a little bit more attention," senior defenseman Corey Potter said. "I think the guys are really enjoying it and I think we're using it to our advantage."
Starting Saturday at noon, the Spartans will attempt to win their first NCAA Tournament game since 2001. The Spartans have been held scoreless in the past three tournament games and haven't won the national championship since 1986.
"I'm just pumped pretty much, ready to go," freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg said. "I've watched this event pretty much my whole life, filled out the brackets every year. I'm pretty excited to finally be a part of it.
"Every shift is a big shift, every shot on net is a big shot on net, every goal is a big goal. Just the importance of every little thing increases."
