Sophomore forward Mike Ferrantino fights Michigan forward Andrew Copp for the puck Jan. 24, 2014, at Munn Ice Arena. The Wolverines defeated the Spartans, 5-2. Erin Hampton/The State News
Contender or pretender? That is the question for MSU hockey.
Just 10 days ago, everything seemed to be looking up. The Spartans were coming off the first two Big Ten wins in program history. MSU had posted a 3-1-1 record in the last five games. The team was generating more scoring chances and keeping the puck out of its own net. It looked like MSU had created a case as one of the contenders in the Big Ten.
However, one bad period on Friday night makes those 10 days feel like an eternity ago.
MSU (8-12-3 overall, 2-4-2-2 Big Ten) surrendered three third-period goals, two within 51 seconds, on Friday night to then-No. 14 Michigan (12-6-2, 4-2-0), guaranteeing the two-game sweep of the Spartans and leading to uncertainty within the program. The series sweep was the first since November.
Following the 5-2 loss on Friday, for the first time all season, head coach Tom Anastos said he felt the team had taken a step back. Even after losses, such as the 2-1 loss to U-M on Thursday, Anastos said the team had continued to improve. That wasn’t the case on Friday.
Heading into the much anticipated rivalry series, MSU had been playing its best hockey of the season. Anastos from week-to-week had said the team was much improved from last year and started turning the corner.
And the numbers suggested it.
Since the last time MSU was swept in a weekend series, the green and white were 5-3-3. Not necessarily an incredible record, but if you dive into the numbers, it proves MSU had shown flashes of greatness.
In the games won, MSU outscored its opponents 21 to 5, including a 3-0 win against U-M. In the games lost, MSU was outscored only 10 to 5.
And during the 11-game stretch, six were against teams with winning records — four of the games against top-four ranked teams when the game was played. It was evident Sparty had begun to find its stride.
But after two humbling losses to the maize and blue, those strides forward have been halted, and questions of MSU being a contender or pretender have risen.
The two losses against U-M don’t take away how far MSU has come as of late, but it does create some uncertainty.
Anastos said after the game Friday he finds it hard to believe his players wouldn’t have brought their ‘A’ game to the rink against the program’s biggest rival, and I have to side with him. And if that was the best MSU had to offer, then the remaining Big Ten schedule will be a tall order for the Spartans.
Only time will tell if this Spartan team is a true contender or simply a pretender.
Robert Bondy is a State News hockey reporter. Reach him at rbondy@statenews.com.
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