HOUGHTON — Deep in the bowels of Michigan Tech’s hockey offices Wednesday morning, head coach Joe Shawhan played and paused a sequence of game tape from his desk on a flatscreen across the room, drawing Xs and Os on a dry-erase board.

Sophomore forward Ryland Mosley sat across from Shawhan, nodding and following his instructions and markings.

In practice a few hours after, the team worked on offensive zone entries, utilizing passing lanes and finding open ice to get the puck to speedy forwards like Mosley.

With WCHA-defending champion Lake Superior State visiting for a weekend series, it’s as good a time as any for Tech’s offense to take the next step.

Puck drop against the Lakers is 7:07 p.m. today and 6:07 p.m. Saturday.

The Lakers (6-3-1) tied and beat St. Lawrence last week.

The No. 18 Huskies (3-2) are coming off a split at Clarkson. Tech won 3-0 and lost 2-1 the following night.

Though productive, the Huskies’ offense has been an on/off switch through five games. All three wins were by at least three goals, and both losses were 2-1 scores.

Getting off to a fast start with first period goals can help spark a rhythm, but it’s something the Huskies haven’t done since Oct. 9 at Wisconsin. Smoothing out offensive consistency has been the main focus for the team.

“Our base task is going to be generating offensive production,” Shawhan said. “Everybody got a little bit excited against Wisconsin and part of that might have given a false sense of security to some of our athletes as well. But you’re looking at a Wisconsin team that had a lot of turnover and we didn’t have any. We came in with the same group, same philosophy and it worked.

“Then as things get tighter and harder, and you’re playing against teams more prepared to defend like Notre Dame and last weekend, Clarkson, you have to work that much harder to grind out your three goals a night. We were able to get that on Friday last weekend. Saturday, we weren’t.”

Mosley is one of four Huskies with two or more goals. Senior forward Brian Halonen leads the team with four goals and seven points. Senior forward Alec Broetzman leads with four assists. Shawhan likes the performance he’s gotten from Huskies transfers so far.

“We’re getting a lot of minutes and a lot of good play out of Michael Karow. He’s doing a great job for us,” Shawhan said. “Matt Quercia is doing a good job for us. He had an injury in I believe it was the (U.S.) Development Program game, a lower body injury. Tyrone Bronte had a really fast start, and now he’s trying to figure things out and see where he can create his game and find his game. Ryland has really had a nose for finding scoring opportunities so far this year. And he was in here to find more, so that’s what we’ve been working on.”

Halonen’s hovered near the top of Huskies’ offensive production through his career at Tech. He’s been more efficient at it this year by focusing more on what he’s good at, Shawhan said.

“Brian Halonen is having a lot of success by just simplifying his game,” Shawhan said. “Having self-accountability on his possessions and things like that. Trenton Bliss plays that way as well. And that’s what we’re trying to get all of our players to do. Every play has a meaning.”

In Shawhan’s eyes, Lake Superior State poses a challenge because of their puck patience and willingness to let plays develop.

“They just play good calm game,” he said. “I think they really manage the puck well. That’s the strength I of their game. Their risk analysis is very good — they try things when they should try things and don’t try things when they shouldn’t.”