In ASU’s first-ever NCHC conference series, Colorado College swept the Sun Devils. On Friday night in Tempe, the Tigers encountered a much different ASU team. This team has won ten of its last eleven games and needed a win to stay atop what is arguably the toughest college hockey conference in the country.
The No. 11 Sun Devils (14-8-1, 9-4 NCHC) started the game slowly, with little action in the first period, but they turned it around midway through the second period with three goals in the final 10 minutes of the period. This outburst proved to be the difference as they beat the No. 19 Tigers (11-11-1, 5-7-1 NCHC) 4-1. Even with the offense looking stagnant in the opening 20 minutes, their defense helped keep Colorado College off the scoreboard.
“We weren’t generating a ton, but we weren’t giving up anything,” head coach Greg Powers said. “We were just patient and stuck to our game. We relied on the depth that we have, and it showed tonight to kind of take over. Your fourth line gives you a big goal to start, and then we just went downhill from there. Everybody chipped in, and it was a great team win.”
Arizona State generated eight shots on goal in the first period but was limited in the offensive zone. When ASU would enter the zone with numbers, the Tigers quickly recovered and forced a turnover, or the Sun Devils would dump the puck and change lines. Even with the offense not finding its footing to begin the game, ASU stayed with it and let its offense find a flow, and inevitably, it did in the second.
The Sun Devils came into the weekend ranked 40th in the country in faceoff win percentage (48.7%, but tied the Tigers 19-19 in the circle at one point. Arizona State won just four faceoffs in the third, losing the battle in the circle 34-22. Teams in the NCHC showcase a plethora of physicality, and the Sun Devils have struggled to keep up at times.
“They’re a stout and structured team, and they’re big,” Powers stated about Colorado College. “You have to pick your spots when to get going, and overall, just stay patient. I think that’s the biggest thing that I liked about our game tonight. We didn’t push or get out of our skates; we stuck to our identity. We managed the puck through the first two periods, and if we can have a mature game like that the rest of the way, you’ll see a lot of results like that.”
After junior goaltender Gibson Homer started both games in the road sweep at St. Cloud State, senior Luke Pavicich received the nod to start the home series. He kept the game scoreless in the first period after the Tigers received multiple grade-A looks at the net, and his offense backed him up in the second. Pavicich finished the night saving 24 of 25 shots faced and nearly had a shutout, if not for a puck that bounced out of his glove and into the net.
Powers expected to split the St. Cloud State series between the two netminders but stuck with Homer in both games. Still, he mentioned postgame that Homer would start on Saturday, sticking with the plan he laid out on Tuesday.
“He (Pavicich) was steady, especially through the first two periods,” Powers added. “He didn’t see a lot of action, but he saw a couple of nice chances in the second and made some big saves. He didn’t get the shutout, but he deserved it. We have two goalies that are kicking and winning games, so the recipe isn’t broken. They’re both playing really well, and it’s smart to split the weekend when one of them is fresh.”
With junior forward Ryan Alexander returning to the lineup, Arizona State officially had all its players back and healthy. Although freshman forward Cullen Potter didn’t suit up due to illness, all players practiced in full this week. With Potter likely back tomorrow evening, Powers will have all players available to play for the first time this year.
“Look what we’ve been through with injury and where we are after it all,” Powers mentioned. “I don’t think that someone being out with injury phases us anymore. We’re excited to hopefully get Potter back tomorrow, but we got through the game with nobody getting hurt. So, if he’s back, we’ll have a fully healthy lineup, and we’ll find a way to get it done.”
In the 12-game stretch where the Sun Devils have gone 11-1, they’ve scored at least three goals in every contest. The offensive production, along with excellent play in the crease from Homer and Pavicich, creates a balance that generates wins at will. Even though ASU is in its first year in the NCHC, Powers created schedules as an independent team that prepared his players for this year.
“Through our independent era, we tried to play the toughest schedule that we could,” Powers observed. “We played all these teams, so we understand what they’re about and how difficult they are to play. It’s different when you face a team like that every night, but when you look at our history, we’ve always played up to the competition. It’s the SEC of college hockey, and we’re in first place almost in February.”
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