Or maybe it’s because Rick Comley left Marquette after 26 years at the reigns of Northern Michigan’s program to become the head coach at MSU.

Either way, when the teams hit the ice, the intensity is high and both teams are looking to prove they are the better squad.

And the Spartans are especially hungry this weekend, entering the two-game road series on a four-game winless streak.

“Going back to my freshman year, they knocked us out and did the same last year,” junior co-captain and defenseman Jeff Petry said. “For all the guys that went through it for those past two years, it leaves a bad taste in our mouth. We want to go up there and give it back to them and get back on our winning ways.”

But Comley posed an interesting rhetorical question during Tuesday’s press conference: How many Spartans who played there in the playoffs last season will even make the trip this weekend?

His answer — fewer than a third of the current team.

Big sheet

The Spartans have a slight disadvantage going into the weekend series — they haven’t played on Olympic-sized ice yet this year and they won’t be able to practice on the bigger sheet until they arrive in Marquette.

Comley said he isn’t too worried about the Spartans’ ability to compete on the bigger surface.

“We should be able to play on the ice,” Comley said. “I don’t think this team has any deficiencies getting around the ice. Certainly, there is more room to move the puck.”

And junior forward Corey Tropp said the big ice shouldn’t play that big of a factor in the series, as he said most of the Spartans played on Olympic-sized rinks growing up.

“It’s not going to be new to anybody,” Tropp said. “If you look in our locker room, we’ve got some guys who can fly and skate. On a bigger ice sheet, you get more time with the puck and there’s not so many bumps and hits.

If anything, the big ice might help the Spartans’ struggling power play, which has gone 2-for-26 during the past three weeks.

“We are going to have the time and space, we just have to make sure it doesn’t hurt us,” Petry said. “We need to move the puck and get into the prime scoring positions instead of keeping it on the outside where it’s less dangerous.”

Keep an eye on Olver

Shutting down Northern Michigan standout junior forward Mark Olver, who’s tied for the CCHA lead with nine conference goals, will be a major point of emphasis for the Spartans this weekend.

“I’m not sure who I’d take over him if given a choice of any player in the league,” Comley said of Olver. “He’s a very, very good player. He’s the whole package.”