“Confidence is the biggest thing,” captain and junior forward Greg Wolfe said. “Once you start getting bounces, you think you’re going to score. You aren’t thinking ‘Oh, that’s 12 games without a goal.’”

If there was any player who was playing with more confidence Saturday than he has in a while, it was Wolfe.

He scored two of MSU’s three goals, the first coming about halfway through the first period with a one-timer during an MSU power play and the second an empty-netter with 31 seconds to play.

Wolfe also scored MSU’s only goal against Bowling Green on Friday night, a 2-1 loss.

“You need your upperclassmen to perform well,” MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. “Your veteran players are vital to your success. For us, it’s important that our veteran players, our upperclassmen, perform to a high level.”

Sophomore forward Tanner Sorenson scored MSU’s second goal, picking up a rebound after sophomore forward RJ Boyd took a shot from the blue line.

After hitting a rough patch the past month Anastos frequently has emphasized the need for the Spartans to go back to the basics of the game.

He said when things aren’t going your way, the players start to try to make things happen individually instead of as a group.

This weekend was a step forward in that regard.

“We have some work to do on executing, but I thought we made better decisions, even though at times we didn’t fully execute. I did think it was a step forward, both (Friday) and (Saturday).”

The Spartans had 21 blocked shots during the game, sacrificing their bodies to put as little pressure on freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand as possible.

Hildebrand has faced his fair share of tests this season, facing up to 50 shots on goal in a single game, but Saturday night proved to be one of his least busy all year.

The netminder faced 28 shots, the least since MSU’s Dec. 15 win against Ferris State, in which he faced 24.

“I felt we did a good job in the defensive zone,” senior forward Chris Forfar said. “We still gave up 28 shots, but compared to some of the other games this year, that’s an improvement. We still need to do a better job of protecting our house and helping our goalies, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

On the other end of the ice, MSU was generating multiple scoring chances — Wolfe said Saturday provided more chances than MSU has managed in quite some time. Although there was only 18 shots on goal on the scoresheet, Anastos said there were multiple opportunities unaccounted for because the puck never hit the net.

“We know things are tough right now, but we have to stick together and not start pointing fingers and saying ‘the ‘D’ needs to do this,’ ‘the offense needs to do this,’” Forfar said. “We need to gel together as a team and overcome this adversity we’re facing.”