Last weekend, MSU managed to go 1-1 against No. 8 Michigan and Ferris State despite only scoring three goals for the weekend, but MSU knows a strong finish depends on early-game goal scoring, which will increase confidence for the rest of the game.

The Spartans’ youth and the early departures of two key offensive players have served as excuses for the team’s scoring inconsistencies, but MSU has scored four goals or more in four of the past nine games, going 4-0 in those games, and knows it has the capacity to score any time.

“It’s a team that has to work very hard for over 60 minutes, and then score early,” Comley said. “Everybody keeps saying what’s the key? Score early. It’s too bad it’s that narrow, but that’s what it appears to be.”

In three of the five games the Spartans have won during their current 5-3-1 stretch, they’ve produced five goals in the first 30 minutes of those games, while earning no first-period goals in any of the three losses.

The Spartans have beaten U-M and No. 13 Miami (Ohio) three out of five times and have competed with the CCHA’s top teams during that stretch, but know consistent scoring will vault it past the remaining teams on their schedule.

Last weekend, role players such as sophomore defenseman Zach Josepher, freshman defenseman/forward Jake Chelios and senior forward Joey Shean combined for two goals and three assists, sparking a team that otherwise failed to create much offense.

“We have to have complete games from here on out,” Jake Chelios said. “One bad period will kill you.”

Consistency
If the Spartans succeed in scoring early goals, they can work on improving their record against unranked teams. The Spartans are 4-1-2 against opponents ranked in the top 10 at the time of playing them, but only 7-12-2 against other opponents.

With eight games remaining against teams in the middle or lower part of the CCHA, players know generating a string of victories will help them climb out of 10th place in the CCHA and pick up momentum for the conference tournament.

“You look at the standings and a couple points here and a couple points there can mean the difference in home ice, and possibly even getting a bye,” junior forward Trevor Nill said. “Staying with it and making sure we get these crucial points out of these last couple series is going to be crucial come playoff time.”

Goalie play
Comley said he’s not sure how he will handle the playing time for freshman goalie Will Yanakeff or junior Drew Palmisano the rest of the season. MSU visits Ohio State for a weekend series, with games starting at 7:35 p.m. Friday and 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

Yanakeff stopped 34 of 35 shots in Saturday’s 2-1 win against U-M and continues to amaze in his freshman season, while Palmisano was robbed of a great effort by inconsistent scoring in MSU’s 2-1 loss against Ferris State on Thursday.

Comley said the team will be in great shape no matter which goaltender gets the start, and is impressed with Yanakeff’s development.

“You talk about a most improved player, he’s gone from early in the year where you’re wondering could you ever play him to the point now where it’s hard to not play him,” Comley said. “They both are playing very well and they’re both capable of playing.”