No. 12 Arizona State traveled to Oxford to take on Miami (OH) and was an hour away from its first game. Every single rostered player was healthy until it was reported that graduate forward Benji Eckerle would miss Friday night’s game with an injury suffered in pregame warmups. There was no update on Eckerle throughout the weekend as ASU swept the Redhawks with 7-1 and 4-1 wins until Tuesday morning.
Head coach Greg Powers announced that the fifth-year forward would miss the rest of his final season due to a ruptured Achilles. He underwent surgery on Tuesday and will watch the rest of the season from the bench, as Powers, as do the other players, still wants his brilliant mind and veteran presence.
“Benji had a freak accident in his dynamic warmup on Friday,” Powers said. “My heart goes out to him, and unfortunately, his career on the ice is over, but we’re going to carve out a new role for him and kind of make him a student coach. He’s not going to miss anything, and we’re going to take him on every trip to incorporate his presence.”
Eckerle was a major part of the second-best penalty kill in the NCHC (84.4%), and if the Sun Devils struggle to stay out of the box, they’ll be met by the best power play team in the nation (32.2%) without one of their key defensive forwards.
“He’s a really great teammate and an important player to our team,” graduate defenseman Ty Jackson commented. “He brings a lot of energy, and he’s a big penalty killer for our team. He’s scored some big goals over the years, too, so it’s a big hole, but we have so much depth here. I’m sure we’ll be able to fill it, and he’ll continue to lead the group from the outside.”
After the Sun Devils were already shaken up by the longest-tenured Sun Devil no longer joining them on the ice, graduate forward Artem Shlaine suffered a scary injury in the first period on Saturday that had him stretched off the ice. Luckily, it was all precautionary action, and Shlaine has progressed tremendously and has officially been diagnosed with a lower back injury.
With No. 5 Denver waltzing into Mullet Arena in just a few days, Shlaine would be a huge loss for ASU ahead of a highly anticipated series. The graduate has been on fire in NCHC play, putting up 20 points in 16 conference games and scoring four goals in the Denver series back in November, credited with both game-winning goals against the Pioneers.
“Arty is day-to-day,” Powers added. “I would say there’s definitely a chance he could be in the lineup Friday. We’re going to continue to mend him up, and obviously, he’s another big loss. He’s probably been the best player on our team and arguably in all of college hockey in January. We’re hoping to get him back Friday or Saturday, but if not, that’s just been the story for us this year of having the ‘next man up’ mentality.”
Back in November, the Sun Devils went to Denver after starting NCHC play 1-3 through their first two weekends in the conference. The Pioneers came into the weekend with a 21-game winning streak that dated back to the prior season, when they won the national championship, but they were swept by ASU, the first time an opposing team swept the Pioneers in Denver since February 2020.
Powers and his team know what it takes to beat the juggernaut Pioneers, but a lot has transpired since. The Sun Devils have reshaped their roster as the team’s overall health has improved. Not having Eckerle and possibly Shlaine changes Powers’ plan dramatically, but the locker room attitude is confident.
“We went up there and had success,” Powers recalled. “I don’t think we got their very best the last time we played, but we’re going to get it this weekend, and we’ll be ready to go. There’s no taking us lightly, and we’re going to have to be even better than we were. Nothing changes this weekend though, we just have to do it at a really high level.”
The Denver series sparked the run that has Arizona State fighting for the top spot in the NCHC this far into the regular season. In the last 15 games, ASU is 13-2 and was very close to winning both of its losses. Winning will undoubtedly grow the chemistry and bonds between the players, but their commitment to each other also played a major role.
“We’ve grown a lot since then,” Jackson stated. “A lot of that is just with our team's confidence and belief. At that point, we felt like we were playing good games and outplaying teams, but we couldn’t find a way to win. When we found a way to win that weekend, we went into weekends believing we could get the job done no matter whom we were playing against.
Senior goaltender Luke Pavicich started both games at Denver, stopping 28 of 30 shots and 24 of 26 between the two games, allowing ASU’s offense to blossom and stun the top-ranked Pioneers. He also started both games last weekend against Miami and allowed a goal in each game. With an 8-2 record in his last 10 games after a 2-3 start to the season, Pavicich is hitting his stride at just the right time for his team.
“It’s gonna come down to how we want to play,” Pavicich noted. “I can only control so much, and then it’s all up to the rest of the guys to score goals, block shots, things like that. We all trust in each other and are trying to stay relaxed. Obviously, we’re going to take it seriously, but you want to have fun and enjoy every day.”
Pavicich and junior Gibson Homer have taken the initiative in the crease. They are both in the top 25 in the country for save percentage and have ASU third in the NCHC in goals allowed a game (2.42). With an already explosive offense in front of them, the entire team compliments itself, which allows the players to trust the skaters around them.
“Every single night, it’s so easy to trust them,” graduate defenseman Noah Beck explained. “They’re amazing guys, and it’s awesome to play for them. We want each of them to do well, so it doesn’t matter who’s in net. We’re playing just as hard to get them a win.”
Graduate defenseman Noah Beck was one of three Sun Devils nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in NCAA hockey at the end of each season. After playing for three years at Clarkson, Beck came to ASU and immediately made his mark, second on the team with 20 assists.
“It’s obviously exciting,” Beck added. “I think it speaks volumes to our team for the most part. I get the guys the puck, and they do the rest, but it was a nice honor. I never had that in my first four years and had a bit of a rough season last year, so just to have that was exciting for sure.”
Arizona State was picked to finish eight out of nine teams in the NCHC before the season, and ASU quickly flipped that narrative. The sweep of Denver put college hockey on notice, and the Sun Devils haven’t looked back. This weekend will be very telling of what happens in the final month of the regular season.
“We want to win the league for sure,” Pavicich voiced. “We don’t want to leave it up to the polls. Obviously, having that at-large bid is great, but we want to win two championships. That’s what our goal is, and that’s what we’re fighting for every weekend.”
The transfer portal for Arizona State helped Powers build arguably the most talented team he’s ever managed. As a result, the Sun Devils are heading into one of the most important weekends in program history. Currently sharing the lead in the NCHC conference with No. 4 Western Michigan at 34 points, ASU could start to separate itself from the Mustangs before the two play in just a couple of weeks at Mullet Arena.
“In my opinion, this team has more upside,” Powers expressed. “This team has more depth and the ability, and there’s not a single kid in our room that would say our goal is to just get to the tournament. Our goal is to be in St. Louis when the season is over. This is a team that is clearly good enough to do it, and we believe that. We have to keep proving it every weekend, no matter how we play.”
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