After losing the first two games of the season in Massachusetts, the Spartans performed better against UMass-Lowell and Boston University last Friday and Saturday, getting a win against Boston.

It took the Spartans three games to score four goals, and they got three in under five minutes against the Terriers.

Head coach Tom Anastos said as the game against the Terriers went along, the Spartans saw they were capable of playing well, and they’ll build on that against American International.

“We hung in there and finally put a few goals together and finished strong to win that game,” Anastos said. “That was a big confidence boost for our team. We made a few line combination changes just to see how that would work out and we liked what we saw.”

The game will mark the return of junior forward Tanner Sorenson, who missed the first two weekends after breaking team rules.

Sorenson was one of the leading scorers for the Spartans a year ago, netting 13 goals and picking up 8 assists in 42 games played.

Anastos said he doesn’t know how the talented forward will fit into the lineup, and wants the biggest lesson to be how hard it is to keep a spot in the lineup.

“Tanner is a talented player and has offensive skills that certainly would lend to our need to improve offensively,” Anastos said. “Last year, in power play situations, he provided some things that we liked. If you don’t perform and somebody performs better than you, we don’t go to the scholarship ledger and see who we’re going to play. It’s who gives us the best chance. Those are precious spots and you don’t want to lose them for whatever reason.”

Senior defender Jake Chelios assisted on all three goals against Boston University on Saturday and ended the game with a plus-3 rating.

Chelios is in his third full year transitioning from forward to defense, and he said one of the hardest things this season has been finding the right guy to be on the ice with.

“I’m just trying to get used to the right pairing and the right guys,” Chelios said. “I felt good last weekend playing with (senior defender) Nick Gatt. He was good at backing me up, so if I do do that forward brain fart, he’s there to make sure I don’t do it anymore.”

He also said his dad, Chris Chelios, who played more than 25 years in the NHL, has given him a lot of advice about improving his defensive game.

“Sometimes, you can never get him to shut up about it,” he said. “You’ve got to take his advice and you can’t say much back to him. You’ve got to trust that. He’s not bad about the skill things it’s just work hard and good things will come.”

The puck drops at Munn Ice Arena for the first game at 7 p.m. Friday night, and game two takes place at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Anastos said the positives outweigh the negatives from last weekend, and he’ll use the lessons learned when the Spartans hit the ice against American International.

“The good thing was we stayed with it,” he said. “Even with as much inexperience as we had. We need to keep doing what we were doing. When we finally broke the ice, we knew whoever got the next goal was going to get an emotional lift. That’s a big confidence boost.”