With the NCAA Tournament just days away, the MSU hockey team is about to embark on an underdog story of its own, and the narrative is its for the taking.

Sure, this team had its share of stumbles this season — such as the pummeling it took in two games against Miami (Ohio) in the CCHA Tournament. Not to mention that the low-seed berth to the Big Dance only happened thanks to some timely wins by Western Michigan and Union.

But if the NCAA Tournament teaches us anything, it’s that any team can seize the upper hand on any given day. Just ask the Michigan men’s basketball team.

As No. 4-seed MSU (19-15-4) takes the ice as the dark horse Friday against No. 1-seed Union (3 p.m., ESPNU), there’s a chance to win the program’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2008.

Senior forward Brett Perlini said entering as the underdog might be to MSU’s benefit.

“It takes a little bit of the pressure off us, to be honest,” Perlini said. “We can come in and just play our game and not have these high expectations. They’re coming in with the (expectation) to win, so we can just go and relax and get a good effort and hopefully take care of business.”

Make no mistake, Union is not an easy draw.

The Dutchmen (24-7-7) enter the series hot off a victory in the ECAC hockey championship against Harvard. Union boasts the nation’s seventh-best scoring offense (3.60 goals per game) and the nation’s second-best scoring defense (2.10 goals per game).

But head coach Tom Anastos has been in this position before. During his years playing at MSU, Anastos earned more NCAA Tournament experiences (four) than any member of his entire current team has — combined.

Even if MSU scrambles without the benefit of experience, a NCAA berth holds importance for this year’s team. And if that experience means Anastos and his team are the underdogs, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

“We had a really tough loss here in (the 1985) tournament and maybe played on one of the best, if not the best team that ever played here, and didn’t win a national championship,” Anastos said. “I think all three teams that have won championships at Michigan State were considered underdogs. So why can’t we be the fourth?”

Wishful thinking, sure. But not too much so for an underdog.

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