By Stefan Kubus –
EAST LANSING – Miserable.
That’s how Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos explained his hectic Saturday night.
Following a 3-0 loss to Ferris State in Big Rapids, on the way home, the windshield wipers on the team bus failed in a snowstorm, stranding the team for a two-and-a-half hour wait until a replacement bus arrived.
“It was a very agonizing evening, from how we played to the circumstances after the game, with the bus having some problems,” Anastos said. “But in the end, everyone got home safely, so it set us back probably two-and-a-half hours, but it was a pretty long night.”
However, the game was the more disappointing of the two events for Anastos, as he called it one of the worst collective efforts in a while from his team.
“We’ve done some real soul searching this week,” Anastos said. “We did get a chance to watch that game over and over and over again. Fundamental things we have to be committed to doing we didn’t do very well. And as a result, we got the kind of result that we deserved, which wasn’t a good one. So, for us, we have to get back to just focusing on basic things, doing them well and playing hard. We have to play real hard if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win.
“I told our players, ‘If every ounce of you didn’t hurt and feel sick to your stomach, not so much with our result, but in our performance toward getting that result, then you’re not where we need you to be in this program.’ And those are the kind of things we’re talking to, recruiting to and if guys are going to have success here, that’s what it’s going to take.”
While the Spartans look to put the Bulldogs behind them for now – MSU plays FSU in a home-and-home series on Jan. 18-19 –, coming to town is a formidable Notre Dame foe. The Spartans suffered 3-2 and 5-1 losses back in early December at the hands of the Fighting Irish, though the Spartans battled them hard both nights.
Sophomore forward and Canton native Brent Darnell said that, although his team struggled to find the back of the net, the best solution is to keep plugging away with a strong work ethic.
“You’ve just got to keep working and know that your hard work should eventually pay off,” Darnell said. “I think, especially this weekend, we have a good opportunity against such a good team like Notre Dame. They’re coming here for two games and I feel this can really be a turning point, especially if we can get two wins out of this. They’re probably one of the top two teams in the country. That could really send us some good momentum our way for the rest of the way.”
This is only the second time that the Spartans will have a home CCHA weekend series. And with students back on campus and coming off a break, it could light a fire underneath a young Michigan State roster.
But for the Spartans to achieve that success, Darnell and Anastos both said that the team has to start getting some dirty goals.
“I think another thing we have to do is kind of get dirtier goals,” Darnell said. “We have to go to the front of the net more, stop there, put in rebounds and things like that, which I really think will ultimately pay off for us.”
“You have to be willing to pay a price to go to the dirty areas,” Anastos said. “Or you’re just going to stand around the perimeter and watch the game pass you by. And the game today, the way the game is played, if you’re not willing to go to those dirty areas, you’re not going to score goals, let alone win games.”
The bottom line, Anastos said, is that he is continuing to build a championship mentality in his locker room.
“Michigan State has to leave it all on the ice every single shift,” Anastos said. “And if we can do that, it’s easier to live with the results and that’s where we are with our program today. We’ve got to make sure that’s very consistent.”