This time around, the Spartans took their brooms out in large part due to the play of sophomore goalkeeper Will Yanakeff and timely scoring to give the team a pair of program-building wins and the program’s first road CCHA sweep since January of 2008.

“I thought that we needed two things coming into the weekend: poise and toughness,” head coach Tom Anastos said in a statement to the athletics department. “I was very impressed with our team this weekend. Even when things did not go our way, there was no panic. We stayed composed, and just kept working hard. I’m very proud of this team right now.”

In Friday’s matchup, the Spartans (6-4-0, 3-3-0 CCHA) rode Yanakeff’s career-high, 38-save performance to hold on and top WMU 3-2. Senior forwards Daultan Leveille and Mike Merrifield and freshman forward Kevin Walrod notched goals to help MSU get out to an early lead and down the Broncos in the first game.

Going for the sweep, Merrifield showed up with a two-goal performance along with a goal and an assist from junior defenseman Torey Krug to walk out of Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo with the sweep, 4-2.

The wins against Western Michigan are arguably the most impressive of Anastos’ young tenure and will prove to be building blocks for the rest of the season. Next up, the Spartans travel to Marquette, Mich., this weekend to take on fellow CCHA opponent Northern Michigan (4-5-3, 1-4-3).