Both Notre Dame and Michigan State are hoping to use Sunday's men's college hockey game at Memorial Coliseum as a run-through for the NCAA Midwest Regionals in March. The No. 6-ranked Spartans and No. 14 Fighting Irish both are looking to use this 4 p.m. game as a boost in confidence.

The teams played Thursday night in East Lansing with Notre Dame winning 2-1 in a shootout.

The Irish played regular-season games in Fort Wayne against Michigan in 2005 and Northern Michigan in 2006. Notre Dame drew 7,948 fans for the game against Michigan and 3,012 fans for Northern Michigan. This will be the first time two ranked teams will play in Fort Wayne. Tickets cost $14, $12 and $7.

Notre Dame started the season ranked No. 4in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine preseason poll, returning 11 of its top 15 scorers from a 31-6-3 team that won the Central Collegiate Hockey Association title for the second time in three years. Notre Dame has played in the NCAA Tournament the last three years.

The Fighting Irish, 5-5-3, have struggled of late, going 0-2-2 in their last three games and are 2-2-5 in the CCHA. They are also 3-4-2 at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame's major problem has been a lack of offense, scoring 28 goals over its 13 games. Conversely, Notre Dame is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, giving up only 24 goals so far.

Junior goaltender Brad Phillips gives up 2.12 goals per game with a .926 save percentage. Junior Ben Ryan leads Notre Dame with 10 points, and junior Calle Ridderwall, sophomore Billy Maday and senior Kyle Lawson have nine each.

Former Komets Paul Pooley and Mike McNeill are assistant coaches at Notre Dame.

Michigan State managed only 10 wins all of last season, but the Spartans are the nation's surprise team with a 9-2-2 mark. They jumped eight places in last week's national poll after sweeping two games from Michigan in a home-and-home series. It's the first time since 1997-98 the Spartans have swept the Wolverines. Last year, Michigan won all five games against the Spartans.

The Spartans, 6-1-2 in the CCHA, have gone 6-0-2 over their last eight. They are led by junior forward Corey Tropp, who is the nation's fifth-leading scorer with nine goals and 17 points. Freshman forward Derek Grant has 13 points in 13 games. Sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano, the reigning CCHA player of the week, gives up only 1.76 goals per game.