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Hockey improves throughout the season, climbs in CCHA standings

MSU is better prepared to play the Lakers the second time around

January 17, 2012
Head coach Tom Anastos and his fellow players look onto the ice when MSU was trailing NMU by one point. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 2-1, Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena. Justin Wan/The State News
Head coach Tom Anastos and his fellow players look onto the ice when MSU was trailing NMU by one point. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Northern Michigan Wildcats, 2-1, Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena. Justin Wan/The State News —
Photo by Justin Wan | and Justin Wan The State News

Looking back to October, there have been a lot of changes for Tom Anastos and the No. 16 MSU hockey team (12-9-3 overall, 7-7-2 CCHA).

As a first year coach, Anastos didn’t have the luxury of coming into the season with knowledge of the team he inherited. Anastos and his staff were forced to work quickly to match players together on lines, develop chemistry and teach their new style of play on the fly.

And in their first CCHA series against Lake Superior State, the Spartans were exposed in a costly two-game road sweep.

Now, with more than half a season under his belt and a rematch with the Lakers looming this weekend at Munn Ice Arena, Anastos said he has learned a lot about both squads since their last meeting.

“In looking back, I don’t think we worked as hard as we are today, but at that point, I didn’t have a great point of reference,” Anastos said at his weekly press conference Tuesday. “And yet, I did think — and I’d still say — we worked hard. But we didn’t work as smart as we can today; our team wasn’t as organized. It was the start of the season, and we had very little time. We were still learning our team.

“I think defensively and offensively ­— defensively, in particular — we’re much better organized than we were back then.”

One area where Anastos sees measured improvement in his team is making adjustments when weaknesses are exposed.

In Friday’s game, Anastos said his team often was out-muscled to the puck by Northern Michigan, and it cost them at both ends of the ice. By comparison, the Spartans played physical and took much better care of the puck on Saturday and were able to win a 2-1 defensive struggle.

This weekend will be another test of the Spartans’ ability to make adjustments. In the previous series in October, the Lakers scored with 71 seconds to play to beat MSU 5-4 and carried the momentum into Saturday’s 3-2 victory to complete the sweep.

With close to three full months of game experience under their belt, the Spartans will look to swing the momentum of the series in their favor early and maintain the same consistent game plan they’ve upheld all season.

“Going into the weekend, we’re going to take it one period at a time, one shift at a time,” junior forward Chris Forfar said. “As long as we can put together some shifts and some periods, we should have a good chance at performing well this weekend.”
 
On his Merry way
Last week, Anastos stressed the importance of Mike Merrifield’s return to the lineup.

The senior forward had missed several weeks with an upper body injury and returned to action during the weekend series against NMU. Merrifield had a goal in two shots and currently leads the team in goals (9) along with having five assists and 14 points on the season.

Merrifield attributes his season success to a greater amount of confidence in his role on the team and his ability to crash the net to make plays on offense.

“I think this year, more than the last few years, I feel more comfortable on the ice and not constantly worried about making a mistake,” Merrifield said.

“Now that I’ve pretty much solidified a good role on the team, I have no problems going to the net or making a play I might not have made last year, and certainly playing with guys like (sophomore forward Lee) Reimer and (sophomore forward Greg) Wolfe always helps.”

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