By Jacob Messing

A year ago, the Lake Superior State Lakers walloped the Michigan State Spartans to begin the year by a two-game margin of 13-4. During the second game of that series, Michigan State gave up four first-period goals.

Now, in East Lansing, the Spartans have their eyes on retribution, as they host their fellow Michigan program in a two-game clash beginning tonight. You can catch both games right here on FloHockey; the puck drops at 7 PM.

Last year’s miserable showing was a rough start to an even rougher season for MSU, which finished with a 7-24-4 record. The Lakers didn’t fare much better, finishing 11-18-7 overall.

But every autumn is a fresh start, and the 2-2-0 Spartans are flawless at home in the early going. Under new head coach Danton Cole, they’ll hope that mark is a sign of things to come. Michigan State knows the team will experience some growing pains, as the new coach integrates seven regular freshmen into the lineup, but the start has been promising to this point.

A perfect home record and consistent ability to outshoot the opponent is a start. The team’s youth and energy has kept them in games late. The Spartans have scored five of their 11 goals on the season in the third period, regardless of being outshot in the third.

That youth has seen sophomores Patrick Khodorenko (3 G, 3 A) and Taro Hirose (2 G, 4 A) record six points through the first four games for the team lead.

Your B1G First Star of the Week – Mitchell Lewandowski! pic.twitter.com/6mWYpjZah7

— MSU_Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) October 24, 2017

Freshman Mitchell Lewandowski, the Big Ten First Star of the Week, is right there with Khodorenko and Hirose, with a goal and five assists of his own. Over the weekend, Lewandowski scored his first goal and added three assists.

The Spartans need to capitalize on these two games against the Lakers, because the journey grows significantly tougher in the near future; they next visit No. 7-ranked Minnesota before returning home to take on No. 5 Wisconsin.

The 1-3-2 Lakers are coming off a confidence-building weekend versus the No. 1 Denver Pioneers. Goaltender Nick Kossoff had a 63-save effort that carried the Lakers to an overtime tie with the nation’s defending national champs who are once again favored to win the crown.

#WCHA Goaltender of the Week, @Kossoff30 (@HockeyLSSU):
63 saves, 10th-most in WCHA history, in 3-3 tie Friday at No. 1 Denver.#WeAreWCHA pic.twitter.com/aePXA217Zg

— WCHA Men's Hockey (@WCHA_MHockey) October 23, 2017

Kossoff’s 63 saves were the 10th-most in WCHA history; the effort earned him the WCHA First Star of the Week. The junior will receive the start Friday at MSU, and if he has another strong outing he could go again Saturday.

The Spartans, though, have barraged the net with shots, and LSSU hasn’t outshot an opponent through its first six games. In other words, the load may become too much for Kossoff, who’s been asked to bear a heavy burden in the nascent stages of the campaign.

The Lakers had the Spartans’ number last season; in their sweep of MSU, five different players recorded at least four points, which includes returning players J.T. Henke, Gage Torrel, and Brayden Gelsinger.

There are three keys to Lakers keeping their streak over the Spartans alive.

Henke, who leads the team with eight points (2 G, 6 A), needs to have another strong showing against the Spartans.

Another key is for LSSU to keep its foot on the gas late. They’ve given up 10 third-period goals in their six games, versus 11 combined over the first two periods.

“That’s the next step for our program is you have that late lead, now you’ve got to close it down,” coach Damon Whitten told USCHO.com following the tie with Denver last week.

The third is for LSSU to keep its powerplay rolling. The Lakers are on 35 percent on powerplay (seven for 20), which ranks second in the nation.

Don’t forget to tune in for both games this weekend; the first starts Friday, October 27, at 7 PM EST. The puck drops on game two at the same time the following day.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.