MSU will face off against Michigan Tech (6-9-5, 4-4-4 WCHA) in the first of two semifinal games on Friday at 3:30 p.m., with No. 3 Michigan (10-2-2, 2-0-0 B1G) taking on Western Michigan (7-8-3, 3-5 NCHC) at 7:00 p.m. in the second game. Depending on the results of Friday’s game, MSU will take on the winner or loser in either the consolation game at 3:30 p.m. or championship game at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

All four of the games will be played outdoors at Comerica Park as part of the Hockeytown Winter Festival in partnership with the NHL Winter Classic being held at Michigan Stadium on New Years Day.

Friday and Saturday will be the third and fourth outdoors hockey games in MSU hockey history.

MSU will be taking on a familiar foe on Friday in the Huskies, looking to avenge a couple losses earlier this year. While MSU has owned Michigan Tech recently in the GLI – winning 14 of the last 15 contests – the Huskies beat MSU 3-0 and 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 8-9.

Michigan Tech dominated the Spartans in the first of game of the series in November, holding the Spartans to 19 shots on the night. Despite another low shot output, MSU experienced more luck the following day but ultimately fell in overtime. In both games, MSU never had a lead, playing catch-up in both games.

Senior forward and captain Greg Wolfe said after already matching up with the Huskies this year, MSU will be aware of their opponents style of play.

“We know how they play, they play pretty a gritty game,” Wolfe said after MSU’s 2-0 loss to Ferris State on Dec. 14. “They do similar stuff but I think the second game we had up in Houghton was a good game. We kind of figured it out.”

Wolfe, who enters the GLI with points in four of the last five games, added that he believes the team will already be pumped up for the historic outdoors event at Comerica Park and will be poised to play their best hockey.

The Spartans could potentially see another familiar face in WMU on Dec. 28 for a third time this season. The Broncos swept MSU 2-0 and 4-1 in a home-and-home series on Nov. 22-23.

MSU could see the returns of senior forward Lee Reimer and sophomore defenseman Travis Walsh, who both missed the last game out with upper body injuries. Reimer is second on the team in scoring with nine points and Walsh is second leading defenseman scorer with five assists on the season.

“We’re not deep enough to be able to overcome those types of things right now,” Anastos said of the injured pair. “Obviously it’s a struggle for us right now…you take a couple guys out of our lineup who lend to that (and) it makes it even thinner.”

Anastos also pointed out that the power play unit felt the losses of both Reimer and Walsh. MSU’s power play was 0-6 last time out against Ferris State, nearly matching the team’s worst power play output on the season.

MSU will enter the GLI without a lot of preparation time since their last game, with only two practices before they take on the Huskies, but Anastos believes the heightened attention on this year’s tournament will motivate the team.

“The GLI is an important tournament for us — we’re playing a team that beat us twice so we need to be prepared for that and try to get a better result,” Anastos said. “It’s on a bigger stage this year than ever before … so lots of eyeballs will be paying attention to it, and it’s important that we go there and play hard.”