With the end of the regular season just around the corner, No. 12 Arizona State would usually have just two games left before a three-week period awaiting its fate while the rest of the conferences played in their tournaments. But this isn’t the past, and ASU is sitting second in the NCHC, likely hosting a quarterfinal series of the NCHC tournament on March 14th.
While the Sun Devils are experiencing new feelings in their inaugural year in the conference, the confidence in the locker room has never been higher.
“There’s way more excitement than stress,” head coach Greg Powers said. “It feels fun for us right now. Everything we’ve built as a program playing meaningful hockey at the end of February is what we’ve strived to do. With these guys this year, everything’s in front of us.”
As it stands today, ASU is outside the NCAA tournament as the No. 16 team in the PairWise ranking, with only the top 14 teams making the postseason. The NCHC is usually one of the premier conferences in college hockey but is experiencing a bit of a down year, limiting the number of teams that have a chance of playing playoff hockey.
“Our nonconference wasn’t that bad, but the league was,” Powers stated. “Any other year in the history of the league right now, we’re a lock for at worst a three seed. While it’s unfortunate, we still control everything that’s in front of us.”
Even with the Sun Devils currently outside of the tournament bubble, the belief they can play their best hockey when it matters most is there. Powers has seen ASU topple the highest mountains throughout his time coaching in the desert, but the ability to close out games has been a struggle lately.
“I think we’ve grown every weekend knowing no matter who we play, we can win,” Powers mentioned. “I think that’s the biggest step our program has taken this year, but the challenge we face is being better at finishing games. We have to apply everything we’ve been through this season, and we’re going to be in a position this weekend to finish games.”
After his performance against No. 4 Western Michigan, sophomore forward Kyle Smolen was named NCHC forward of the week. He scored three points over the weekend. Smolen has demonstrated a great deal of growth in his second year playing for the Sun Devils, stepping up as a leader among the underclassmen.
“He just gets better every weekend,” Powers emphasized. “He’s going to be a great leader and captain here for sure next year. He came in as a Blue Collar guy, waited for his time to come, and he just wants what’s best for the program above everything else. He plays that selfless brand of hockey we want all of our guys to play, and he’s been rewarded for it.”
Powers mentioned throughout the season that this team is the most talented and deepest, but ASU has struggled to stay healthy. Even though the injury list took out some of the top talent at certain points, the Sun Devils have battled through the adversity and continued to put up wins. Players stepped up when they needed to, displaying the flexibility the players have to play all positions.
“Despite all the injuries, we’ve had success,” Powers commented. “Last time we played Omaha, our top three right wings were all injured. I think it speaks volumes about other guys stepping up, and I’m really proud of our guys. They’ve grinded through it, and we’ve built a deep team despite a lot of injuries this year.”
The Sun Devils travel to Nebraska to face Omaha in the final regular season series of the year, two games that carry an immense amount of weight for ASU’s postseason implications. The Redhawks split the first two games in Tempe and are third in the NCHC behind the Sun Devils with 38 points.
“They’re playing well,” head coach Greg Powers noted. “Their league play has been really impressive, and they’ve always been good at home. We’ve played them a lot over the course of our history, so we’re looking forward to a great series.”
Three of the six defensemen Powers puts on the ice are freshmen who have grown tremendously in their play. Each of them usually pairs up with a veteran on the team, which allows the younger players to learn from the experiences and minds of their partners, furthering their skills and knowledge of the game.
“They want to learn, they’re hungry, and they’re just great kids,” senior defenseman Ty Murchison recognized. “Everyone in the locker room has fit in so nicely this year, and they’re mature. These guys are on the ice and working on their game, but they’re hungry and want to go win games.”
With most of the games in conference play coming down to a handful of moments, the margin for error is very small. The Sun Devils are 2-5-2 in overtime this year and have been unable to close out games, even with a plethora of opportunities to light the horn and end the game. As the regular season comes to a close and playoff hockey peeks over the horizon, the time for ASU to clean up its late-game mistakes is closing in.
“I think details matter, especially towards the end of the regular season,” Murchison expressed. “Pretty much every game is going to be a one or two-goal game, so we just have to bring that into our everyday approach and let it translate to the ice.”
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