In earning a berth as the No. 4 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans proved that somewhere along the way, the players and coaches worried little about what was expected because their personal expectations have changed.

Between hearing ESPN’s John Buccigross read off their name on Selection Sunday and taking the ice on Friday afternoon, Anastos gave his team less than a minute to celebrate in the parlor of Reno’s Sports Bar and Grill in East Lansing before going right back to work.

After all, what did they have to celebrate? The team’s goal was to win a playoff game and eventually the national championship, which obviously isn’t guaranteed by just making the Big Dance.

Entering a Union partisan crowd at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., on Friday and fighting through injury and two weeks of sitting idle, the Spartans proved many wrong with not just their ability to compete with Union, but the way they took the game to the wire at both ends of the ice – albeit, in a 3-1 losing effort.

At the end of the day, the Dutchmen proved to be a smidge too tough for MSU, which fooled few who had a chance to watch the nation’s second best scoring defense all season in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

“They gave us what we expected,” junior defenseman Torey Krug said. “They played very well in front of their goalie and it was hard to generate chances. To their credit, they’re a very good defensive team and unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize on our chances.”

This feeling both is familiar and foreign for the Spartans. On one hand, this class has been marked by the disappointment of being kept out of the NCAA Tournament for four years and not measuring up to the classes that won the 2007 National Championship against Boston College.

The other is the rude pit in each of the players’ stomach following much anticipation and months of tireless preparation, as though they were stood up by their high school prom date.

It was a strange atmosphere in the press conference following the game. The sadness of the words of Krug and junior forward Anthony Hayes were not of bitterness of the loss, but a genuine expectation that the team deserved more. In fact, they expected more.

But all they have now is the memory of the loss to remind them why they’re, once again, on the outside looking in.

“Obviously coming out of the Miami weekend, we still knew there was a glimmer of hope and obviously right now, that’s not the case,” Hayes said. “We know our season is over. It gives you time to reflect on things moving forward and looking back at things. The feeling is fairly similar; it’s not a good one.”

Even if the players don’t see it yet, there’s a lot to be proud of with this team.

Sure, they lost a tough game to a tough team and will have to wait another year to get the first playoff win under Anastos. The road also will be tougher with the loss of nine seniors and potentially Krug, if he decides to make the leap to the NHL.

Take 10 experienced senior players away from any team in college athletics, and it’s going to be a struggle. With that being the case, it’s fair to say that expectations of next year’s team might be up for debate.

Will they match it? Could they exceed it? Is a disappointment looming? It’s impossible to tell.

But unlike this year’s squad who met Anastos last March and went to battle with him less than six months later, many on next year’s team will have the benefit of having been to the NCAA Tournament and have felt the spotlight of college hockey’s biggest stage.

Also unlike this season, the Spartans will sneak up on nobody in 2012-13. The secret is out, and there will be a lot of talent left behind on MSU’s roster.

Regardless of what’s expected of them, the Spartans have found a formula that works with Anastos that emphasizes high-energy, a strong compete level and aggressive style of play that takes opponents to the brink each night. The team has proved that success is on the horizon.

And while Anastos is here, it will be hard to expect anything less.

Dillon Davis is the hockey reporter for The State News. He can be reached at davisdi4@msu.edu.