“I listen to the same music in the car, so I guess that can be one,” Croghan said. “I like country rock on the way to the game, that gets me dialed in.”

Whatever it is, his De Smet teammates and coaches don’t want him to change it.

After going pointless in his first 12 games this season, Croghan has scored five goals in his last three games for the Spartans.

That included two goals Monday night to lead De Smet to a 2-1 win over Marquette in a Mid-States Club Hockey Association Municipal Conference game at Queeny Park.

“I figured that maybe one would come my way, maybe by luck,” Croghan said. “But I battled through it and stuck to the process.”

Goalie Brady Govero made Croghan’s two goals stand up with 19 saves for De Smet (13-4-2).

Chase Nolan scored and John Mohrmann made 16 saves for Marquette (11-8-1).

“We were not engaged the first period and a half,” Marquette coach Gary Tockman said. “I think we over-respected them, we were just kind of on our heels and we finally started clicking late in the second and all the way in the third and if we would have played that way the entire game, we might have had a chance.”

Croghan gave De Smet the lead with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first period, whipping a Nicholas Salthouse pass into the net.

“With Jack we’ve been talking about just simplifying the game, playing to our strengths and I just think you’re seeing him play simple and being the player he knows he’s capable of being,” De Smet coach Casey Ott said. “He’s on a heater right now.”

Croghan made it 2-0 late in the second period, getting past a pinching Marquette defenseman and sending a change-up just inside the near post on his breakaway. As they had on the first goal, Salthouse and Cole Heffington got the assists.

Croghan’s outburst has coincided with being paired with Salthouse and Heffington.

“I’m on a club team with Cole so there’s some chemistry there and Salthouse is on the older team so there’s always been a little chemistry there,” Croghan said.

Govero made several big saves earlier in the second to make the lead stand up. Govero got his pad on a Colin Farrell chance early in the frame and made several rapid-fire saves during a Mustangs flurry a few minutes later.

“Tonight, my team just did their job,” Govero said. “Overall, that’s team win. They had a couple of short chances here and there, but that’s where I come in. Having a ‘D’ that’s willing to block shots and take hits is huge, especially for me. It makes my job a whole lot easier.”

Marquette finally solved Govero with Nolan’s goal early in the third period. The goal came on a delayed De Smet penalty and wasn’t immediately called by the officials, who confirmed it after a brief discussion at center ice.

Mohrmann kept the Mustangs in it by getting his shoulder on a Salthouse drive on an odd man rush with just over five minutes left in the game.

Tockman hopes Marquette can build off of the way in finished the game heading into the playoffs.

“Our identity is speed and pressure and bodies and kind of havoc,” Tockman said. “When we don’t do that, we’re not very good. But when we do that, we start to have success.”