“I would have taken … anything,” Kennedy said while laughing. “It’s been one of the most frustrating personal months of my life.

“Before the game I was thinking that if I scored, I was going to fall on the ice and just look at God. I kind of got scared because I didn’t know what coach’s reaction would be, so I just skated back to the bench.”

Kennedy’s goal, his first of the year, put the Spartans up 2-0 and seemed to ease his teammates.

“I think the bench just really relaxed at that point,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “It’s been such a drought for (Kennedy).”

Senior captain Bryan Lerg tallied the first goal with 24.8 seconds left in the first period. The puck hit Bronco goaltender Jerry Kuhn’s glove, brushed off the post and went in.

Senior forward Chris Mueller put the nail in the coffin and scored a power play goal, his first in more than a month, to secure MSU’s 3-0 victory. Kennedy and junior forward Justin Abdelkader picked up assists on the play.

MSU comes off from a disappointing road weekend at Northern Michigan in Marquette. The Wildcats swept the Spartans in two games, however, the team has been working on its defensive zone coverage and defending the rush, which helped Friday, junior goaltender Jeff Lerg said.

“It’s good to get a shutout against them,” he said. “Usually, I have trouble beating them.

“(The team) pretty much made my job easy, controlling rebounds and gave me a chance to watch the puck.”

The Spartans head to Kalamazoo on Saturday to finish up the Western series. MSU posts a 22-20-1 record at Lawson Ice Arena. The puck drops at 4:35 p.m.