The silver lining for the sophomore forward was his first goal as a Spartan in the overtime loss Saturday night.

“(It’s a) big monkey off my back,” Bondra said. “Mike (Ferrantino) was coming around the net. He dished it around the front, and I had the easy play of tapping it in. Then I hear Mike screaming and his hands are up and Coxy (freshman forward Joe Cox) has his hands up and they’re all cheering. I was like, ‘Who scored?’ and they were like, ‘You did!’”

When he’s paired with Ferrantino and Cox on a line, the trio is 5 in the plus-minus statistic, second-best among forward lines on MSU.

Bondra played 35 games on an injury-plagued roster last season, and picked up just three assists.

With much of the team in better health this campaign, Bondra and the rest of the younger players have been fighting for a spot in the lineup.

Head coach Tom Anastos said when Bondra came to MSU this season, he found it harder to play as many games as he was expecting.

“It worked out where he played two games at UMass, and he played really well,” Anastos said. “Then we took him out of the lineup and inserted other people into the lineup. That’s not an easy thing to digest without having it affect your attitude, your mentality or how you project to your teammates. He handled it like a pro.”

Bondra is one of five Spartans who have scored their first goal of their career this season.

Senior forward Greg Wolfe said having the extra fight for a spot in the starting lineup is crucial to keeping the locker room positive, and pushing players to get better.

“There’s a ton of competition,” Wolfe said. “People are working really hard and battling. It’s making us a better team in the end, and that’s all it comes down too.”

Anastos said he knew Bondra was capable of jumping right in and contributing when the team needed him most.

“I talked to him and I said ‘You’ve just got to keep doing what you’re doing and when the opportunity presents itself, be ready to play,’” Anastos said. “As hard as that was, he dealt with it. He’ll probably remember that (goal) even though he never saw it.”

The Spartans have a week off before they return to action in a home-at-home series against Western Michigan at Munn Ice Arena on Friday, Nov. 22 and in Kalamazoo on Nov. 23.

Even though his first goal came in a loss, Bondra said it was good to finally get the family of monkeys off his back.

“It was tough last year not scoring a goal, especially after coming off a season in juniors where I scored a lot,” he said. “I’m happy I got that first one and that I got the opportunity to play. Hopefully that carries over.”