He said this year has more to look forward to because of the playing experience among the ten upperclassmen, the preparation time before games start and the roster depth.

Last season, MSU averaged 25.6 shots per game, while their opponents put up 32.7.

Anastos said the team needs to develop more of a scoring mindset this season and up the offensive production. Part of this can be changed in recruiting and new additions, so the six newcomers to the Spartan roster can be looked at for production.

“Offense is an area that we were weak at last year, scoring goals and producing offense,” Anastos said. “The good news is that the players we graduated last year only accounted for 14 goals, so we haven’t lost a lot of goal scoring, but then we didn’t have a lot of goalscoring to lose.”

Fighting against the offensive production will be the loss of three players for 6-10 weeks due to injury. Sophomore defender John Draeger, sophomore goalie Nate Phillips and junior forward Matt Berry are out with lower body injuries.

Berry was the leading scorer last season with 15 goals and 16 assists, while Draeger was a key member of the Spartan defense.

“Injuries are a part of the game and something that we’ll have to deal with, but that’s something that we’ll have to overcome, especially early in the season,” Anastos said.

Despite all the injuries that are hampering the Spartans at the beginning of the year, there is some good news.

Both senior forward Dean Chelios and freshman defender Rhett Holland are coming back after missing all of last season with shoulder injuries.

“When they brought up (redshirting) right after I got injured, it was pretty crazy to think about that. I knew it was going to be a long process,” Chelios said. “So try to keep with it and consistant was my goal. I feel like after a year and a half of training, I feel like I accomplished my goal.”

In the three seasons before the injury, Chelios netted 20 goals and had 18 assists in 105 games played.

Even when the news that Holland would be missing the first year of his college career was hard to hear, it gave him an opportunity to figure out the best place for him to fit in the lineup.

“It was nice to be a student of the game,” Holland said. “I couldn’t do anything but learn from their mistakes and study our team’s play. It’s not an experience that you want, but in the situation I was in, it was nice to get that perspective of everything.”

Both are expected to play, and both said they feel good about getting back on the ice.

Still, for Chelios, having someone to go through the process with him made it that much easier to endure.

“Having Rhett, I was able to influence him and help him out too,” Chelios said. “I couldn’t imagine waking up in the morning like I did all year last year without someone to hang out with.”