(Photo: Josh Eaton/WCSN)
As Arizona State enters its last eight games of the season, it is in a much more dire position than it was last year. At this time last season, the Sun Devils were 19-11-1 and on their way to a second-place NCHC regular-season finish.
Following a split against Colorado College over the weekend, ASU is 13-14-1 and just one point clear of last place in the NCHC, on the verge of missing the conference tournament. The Sun Devil roster depth is also about as eroded as its NCAA Tournament hopes are, after news broke over the weekend that senior forward Johnny Waldron has left the team and reportedly joined the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL.
“Sometimes it works out,” head coach Greg Powers said, “ Sometimes it doesn’t. He’s a great kid, and I think it’s probably in his best interest to start his pro career now. We hope he goes and has a ton of success.”
With Waldron off the team, sophomore forward Cullen Potter and freshman forward Jack Beck out for the year with injuries, and now Braxten Whitehead out with an undisclosed injury, the Sun Devils have been forced to look in a new direction at forward. Senior Tucker Ness has made the move from the back end to the fourth line as a center.
“He’s a Swiss army knife,” Powers said, “He’s such a good program guy, and he’ll do anything he can for our team to have success. He’s effective upfront. He forechecks, he’s big, he’s physical. He has more skill than you think. He’s a really effective forward, and he’s so committed to the forecheck.”
The lack of depth on the roster was evident over the weekend, as the Sun Devils encountered the same issue they did against then-No. 4 North Dakota: taking too many penalties. ASU found itself in the penalty box 10 times against Colorado College. In game one, the Sun Devils blew a 5-2 third-period lead, giving up three power-play goals in a 6-5 OT win.
In game two, the Sun Devils took five penalties and managed to put only 21 shots on the opposing goaltender. The lack of offensive production appeared to stem from a team that was tired out from trying to kill ten power plays in two nights, with zero healthy scratches.
“It’s a good, hard-earned split,” Powers said, “Friday was unfortunate because we had the game in our control, and then we obviously took two penalties in the same whistle. They tied it up on that five-on-three, but we found a way to win. Saturday, we just felt like we were out of gas. Again, the tail of the tape was penalties.”
The split in Colorado Springs marks an entire year since the Sun Devils have swept a regular-season conference series, with their last sweep coming against Miami on Feb. 1, 2025. The inconsistencies for ASU have included an inability to close out games, with 11 losses coming in games with a goal difference of one entering the third period.
“Setbacks are always a good thing,” sophomore defenseman Joel Kjellberg said, “We’ve blown too many third-period leads this year. At some point, we have to learn from it, and we’re just going to have to do that right now.”
The Sun Devils now look ahead to an opponent with form about as inconsistent as their own, as they take on St. Cloud State in Tempe. In its last six games, St. Cloud has wins over No. 10 Minnesota Duluth and No. 8 Denver, but was swept by Miami (OH). St. Cloud sits just one point above ASU in the conference standings with 20 points.
“Just one game at a time,” Powers said, “Going into [Colorado College], it was a ten-game season. The goal on Friday was to go 1-0, and then on Saturday the goal was to go 1-0. That’s all we’re looking at. Now it’s an eight-game season. The goal is now to go 1-0 against St. Cloud and then go from there.”
If the Sun Devils are to get their first conference sweep of the season, it will look to the two most consistent young attacking options, sophomore forward Sam Alfano and freshman forward Carmelo Crandell. Alfano has six points in his last four games, including two goals in the OT win over Colorado College.
With Potter and Beck gone, Crandell has risen onto ASU’s top forward line with senior forwards Bennett Schimek and Cruz Lucius. Crandell has generated 12 chances on goal in the four games on the top line, even getting on the board against North Dakota.
“That’s the silver lining with our young group,” Powers said, “You hate to lose a kid like [Justin Cloutier] who would be so useful for us right now. The other guys have done such a great job. We look at Sam Alfano and Carmelo Crandell, who have stepped up and embraced bigger roles as younger kids. They’re playing great hockey.”
With the chances of making the postseason up in the air, and a roster that is almost completely depleted, the Sun Devils will look to turn their season around. ASU will drop the puck on Friday at 7 p.m. MST at Mullet Arena against St. Cloud.
“We have to do the small things better,” Kjellberg said, “Blowing a 5-2 lead in the third on Friday is unacceptable, but we have to stay positive.”
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