And nothing is better than beating U-M, especially after how badly the Spartans were embarrassed last season — losing all five games against the Wolverines and being outscored 29-10. Junior forward Dustin Gazley said sweeping U-M is a better feeling than when the Spartans upset No. 1 Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio.

With the weekend’s sweep, the Spartans will jump up in the rankings — which are released today — and potentially could break into the top 10.

Keep in mind, the Spartans entered the season unranked and were picked to finish in eighth place by the media and ninth place by the CCHA coaches in the conferences’ preseason polls.

But MSU now is in sole possession of first place, two points ahead of second place Miami (Ohio) and five points ahead of third place Ohio State.

With nine wins, the Spartans (9-2-1 overall, 6-1-1 CCHA) already are one win away from matching the team’s win total from all of last season.

Sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano said he didn’t expect the team to get out to such a strong start, especially with the way the team struggled at the end of last season.

“We had a goal this year to come out and prove ourselves and show that last year wasn’t our best year,” Palmisano said. “We tried to have baby steps at the start, but we’ve been taking bigger steps than what we expected.”

And the team’s early success has MSU head coach Rick Comley calling for some respect.

“You lose respect quick, but you gain it slow,” Comley said of the turnaround this season. “That’s the business we are in.”

If you’re still wondering how the team has turned it around so fast, I’ll give you a quick update.

All nine freshmen start and are very, very good. No injuries (knock on wood). Junior forward Corey Tropp is a scoring machine. The team is believing in the new system. Everyone meshes well in the locker room. And the bounces seem to be going the Spartans’ way.

With the Spartans’ early success, the team is hoping more fans will come to Munn Ice Arena and support them, as Comley and several players credited the atmosphere for helping the Spartans earn the victory on Saturday night.

“It means everything,” Comley said of Saturday’s packed house. “It’s our first time this year that these young kids have seen it and they are pumped. They are sky-high because of the win and because of the atmosphere, and what you’d like it to become again.”

The month of November isn’t over yet, and the Spartans still have a tough home-and-home series against No. 8 Notre Dame this weekend, along with home games against Wisconsin and Minnesota Thanksgiving weekend.

Although this month undoubtably is a treacherous stretch, if the Spartans keep playing solid hockey, the month of November could establish MSU as the team to beat in the conference.

Alex DiFilippo is the State News hockey reporter. He can be reached at difilip3@msu.edu.