With many newcomers in the playing rotation this season, head coach Tom Anastos knew it was going to be a tough season from the get-go, and the team faced many highs and lows throughout the season.

“We reached a point in the season last year where our confidence was at a very low level,” Anastos said. “It was very fragile, because you could see in practice, we couldn’t complete a fundamental pass. Guys were very frustrated and we fought through it.

“The way we ended the season we were playing pretty darn well. Now, I think there is a level of confidence that we can build on.”

In addition to having 12 new players, Anastos said a key part was the significant turnover on the defensive side of the puck. Two players on the back line were freshmen defenders John Draeger and Travis Walsh. The Spartans also introduced then-freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand, who made the majority of starts in the crease over then-junior goaltender Will Yanakeff, who was expected to take over the starting reigns last season.

Senior defender Jake Chelios, who was the most experienced member of the defense, said last season taught them a lot about themselves and need to stay confident.

“Whenever you’re losing like we were last year, it’s hard to keep your confidence, but towards the end of the season, we strung some wins together and we got our confidence almost immediately back,” Chelios said. “Whenever you go through a season like that it teaches you some life lessons, and I don’t think there’s one person on our team that ever wants to go through that again.”

Senior forward Greg Wolfe is in his second season as a team captain and anticipates becoming a leader to restart the winning trend of MSU hockey.

“I want to be one of the people that puts this program back where it needs to be or at least starting the trend to where it needs to be,” Wolfe said. “After last year, that was a tough year, but we gained a ton of experience and a ton of knowledge… At no point last year did I feel like we gave up.”