Comley said the offense’s lack of scoring in the past few series has had a mental impact on the team.

“You can tell it’s not a very confident group right now,” he said. “It isn’t a good thing.”

With the offense plagued with an inability to score, goalie Drew Palmisano gave the team a chance against Ferris State (7-5-3 overall, 4-4-3 CCHA) on Tuesday night.

The junior made 24 saves on the 26 shots he faced — including some spectacular stops — but the offense couldn’t take advantage of the stellar goaltending.

“He played really well,” senior forward Dustin Gazley said. “He made some really key saves. We just have to help him out more than we are. But he played well tonight.”

The Bulldogs struck in late in the first period with a goal from the right slot by defenseman Chad Billins.

Ferris State missed another chance in the first when the puck almost bounced over Palmisano off of the wacky ice surface.

The Spartans (4-6-3, 2-6-1) saw a few chances in the second period, but couldn’t get the puck past Bulldog goalie Pat Nagle.

Palmisano made a huge save in the second when a turnover allowed Ferris State what appeared to be an easy breakaway opportunity.

MSU had better chances in the third period, including several open-net chances, but the puck couldn’t find its way into the net.

“We had spurts, halfway through the second, third period,” Comley said. “They really got going and made things happen. Ferris’ goaltender played really well, and things just aren’t going right now for us. it’s a tough stretch.”

The Bulldogs got their second goal 15:44 into the third when forward Eric Alexander put a loose puck past Palmisano.

Alexander picked up his second goal of the night after the MSU pulled Palmisano in favor of an extra attacker and Alexander scored on the empty net

MSU is missing something from the 3-0-3 start to the season, junior forward Trevor Nill said.

“The major one is the puck is not going in the net,” Nill said. “There aren’t too many major differences, it just a matter of winning a little battle here, a little battle there.”

The Spartans leave Thursday morning for a holiday roadvtrip that will make stops in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Comley said the Spartans must get through this tough eight-day stretch of five game.

“We got to get through this tough stretch,” he said. “You don’t like where we are right now, but it’s where we are. Take your lumps right now and work hard to get better.”