Since 1981, the lowest MSU has ever finished was sixth place. This year, the Spartans finished 11th and will travel to Marquette to face Northern Michigan in a best-of-three series.

If the Spartans win the series, they’ll face either Notre Dame or Michigan.

MSU has a combined 0-7-0 record against those teams this season.

Despite the extreme lows the team has gone through this season, MSU head coach Rick Comley said his team is capable of making a run in the playoffs.

“It’s been unbelievably disappointing and frustrating,” Comley said of the season.

“But every day you have to approach it like you believe you can take a step and win
a hockey game.”

Bigger sheet

As the Spartans prepare for the Wildcats this week, perhaps the biggest adjustment they are dealing with is the size of Northern Michigan’s rink.

The Wildcats play on an Olympic-sized surface, which is 15 feet wider than the standard surface MSU is accustomed to playing on.

Due to the youth of the Spartans, Comley has the team practicing on the Olympic ice this week to get comfortable with the extra space in both the offensive and defensive zones.

“To give yourself any chance at all, you need to skate on Olympic-size ice,” Comley said. “I think older, better teams can do it and I think younger, inexperienced teams really struggle on it — even more if they don’t skate on that ice.”

The Spartans have played only two games on Olympic ice this season, recording a tie and a loss. But the tie came against then-No. 1 Minnesota and the Spartans recorded a season-high four goals in the game.

After seeing flashes of success on the bigger surface, senior defenseman Kurt Kivisto thinks more space might actually play to the Spartans’ advantage.

“We are a smaller team that likes to skate,” Kivisto said. “It gives us a little more room out there to be more creative.”

Rowe’s status

Sophomore forward Andrew Rowe is questionable for this weekend’s series after injuring his shoulder in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to No. 2 Notre Dame.

Comley said Rowe would skate with the team Tuesday without contact.

“(Monday) they were not optimistic prior to him getting here,” Comley said. “But he did show some improvement. He has a chance to play, but if he can’t play, then oh boy. There are absolutely zero options.”

Sophomore forward Dustin Gazley has been on the same line with Rowe for practically the entire season and said losing his linemate would be unfortunate to the chemistry they have built up.

“It’s a little bit of a hit, but stuff like that happens,” Gazley said. “We just have to overcome that and see who clicks with us this week on our line if Rowe can’t play.”

If Rowe isn’t cleared to play this weekend, Comley said it will have a big impact on the team’s offensive firepower because Rowe’s skills would transfer to the Olympic ice.

“Rowe being able to play is very important,” Comley said. “Because of his skating ability, (the Olympic) ice surface really suits him well.”