Looking for Redemption

After a disappointing showing at the Great Lakes Invitational, the Spartan hockey team will look to jump start the second half of the season as they play a pair of games at Munn against Lake Superior State University

EAST LANSING - This weekend the Michigan State hockey team will try to put a poor performance in the Great Lakes Invitational behind them with a pair of games at home against Lake Superior State.

Michigan State needs a pair of wins to keep pace in the CCHA race. They currently sit in fourth place, six points behind the league leading Wolverines.

The Spartans lost both their GLI games, including a disappointing 4-1 loss at the hands of Michigan Tech in which the Spartans went 0-4 on the power play.

In that game, the Spartans trailed 2-1 with less then a minute left but were unable to generate any offense and allowed a pair of goals to seal their fate.

"I thought this was a very hard-fought game, and credit goes to Michigan Tech," said Rick Comley.

The following night, the Spartans looked to rebound against a gritty Providence College team that was handily defeated the night before by Michigan. The Green-and-White led 2-1 entering the third period thanks to a Nick Sucharski goal.

The Spartans allowed four third period goals to the Friars, however, and that led to a 5-3 loss despite a season high 40 saves from goalie Jeff Lerg.

The best medicine for the Spartans after their disappointing performance in the GLI would be a pair of wins against Lake Superior State, a team who hasn't beaten the Spartans in twelve games. Michigan State leads the all time series with the Lakers 64-29-10 and has only lost to them once under current coach and Lake State alum Comley.

Against the Lakers, Michigan State will attempt to get their special teams back on track. One of the keys to the Spartan's success this season has been power play production. In MSU's 12 victories, they are 20-of-66 with the man advantage compared to just one for 25 in their six losses.

For the Green-and-White to have success this weekend they simply need to start doing the little things right again. If they can eliminate turnovers and to get good play from goalie Jeff Lerg, the Spartan icers should find themselves back on the wining side of the box score.