The Series: Michigan State at Denver; Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Magness Arena

MSU’s Record: 1-0-1 (topped the others receiving votes category in the USCHO.com poll)

Last weekend: MSU tied Maine, 3-3, and defeated Lake Superior State, 4-1, at the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland, Maine. Freshman defenseman Zach Osburn scored twice in the tie with Maine, a game in which all three Spartans goals came on the power play. Forward Mackenzie MacEachern lit the lamp twice against Lake State while goaltender Jake Hildebrand made 29 saves.

Overview: The Spartans have an upperclassman-heavy roster, with eight seniors and nine juniors (three of whom are redshirt juniors). Their seven goals in their first two games offer hope they’re overcoming their offensive struggles of a season ago, when they averaged just. 2.37 goals per game. All-American goaltender Hildebrand offset that to a degree because he gave up just 2.18 goals per game. The Spartans return three of their top five scorers from a season ago, when they finished second in the Big Ten. Coach Tom Anastos’ teams typically play hard without stepping over the line. They averaged slightly more than four penalties per game.

Masked Man a Spartan Superhero: Hildebrand, a senior, played all 35 games for the Spartans last season. He went 17-16-2 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. He rarely gives up more than two goals in a game; it only happened 14 times in 35 starts a season ago. As you’d expect, he played both games last weekend.

Offense: Michigan State has a fairly balanced attack, led by MacEachern, a 6-foot-3 junior whose 26 points last season were second most on the team. Senior captain Michael Ferrantino (5-8) scored a team-best 12 goals among his 23 points and senior forward Ryan Keller (6-2) added 19 points and 11 goals. Junior forwards JT Stenglein (6-0) and Joe Cox (6-0), as well as Ferrantino, scored goals last weekend. The Spartans went 3-for-11 on the power play last weekend, but all three goals came against Maine.

@MagnessMayhem