(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
Coming to Tempe to face the reigning ACHA National Champion Arizona State Sun Devils was a tall order for the 18th ranked Arizona Wildcats. The two teams play different styles of hockey. Although the Sun Devils came out of the first game with a 4-1 victory, both squads’ strengths and weaknesses were on display.
Arizona (2-2) for the most part, did a good job playing in their comfort zone. However, the first period went by at too great of a pace for them to keep up with Arizona State (7-0). The Wildcats simply did not have the speed and athleticism to skate with the Sun Devils, which resulted in them giving up a 2-0 lead.
“They work hard. They’re not a skilled team but from a standpoint of judging 60 minutes of hockey, they outworked us, there’s no doubt about that,” said ASU head coach Greg Powers.
UA is known around the league as a physical team that is not afraid to put a body on opposing players. Their physicality seemed to slow down Arizona State in the second period, when they had a much more equal amount of shots than in the opening period, where they were outshot 14-4.
The Sun Devils’ rushes were halted by the Wildcat backline: diving and sacrificing their bodies in front of goalie Garrett Patrick. They may not have won, but new UA head coach Chad Berman may have laid a foundation for increased success in the future.
After simply imposing their will over their prior opponents, Arizona State returned home from North Dakota for a visit from their in state rival Arizona. In the first period, Arizona State peppered Patrick with two of their shots finding the back of the net. However, as they took and delivered more hits, Power’s squad became sloppier. Arizona was able to take control of the neutral zone and virtually eliminate the Sun Devils’ rushes.
Arizona State needs to capitalize on more of their opportunities. Drew Newmeyer, Ryan Belonger, and Liam Norris were able to score off of rebounds, which have been a staple of the team’s offense so far this season. If they are able to have more success rebounding the puck Saturday night, they should have no problem sweeping the Wildcats. Now that they have a game under their belt against a stronger opponent, they should find more success once they review tonight’s performance.
“I heard (from the vets) that games tend to get a little rough,” said ASU forward Ryan Belonger, who played in his first UA rival game. “It’s just about being more disciplined then they are and letting them be stupid and take the penalties, and try to take advantage of that.”
Sophomore goalie Robert Levin was fantastic as usual, as it could have been a much closer game had he not played up to his standard. His performance as a goalie kept his teammates in the game. A hot goalie can frustrate and dishearten an opposing sniper, which may be what happened to the Arizona offense.
“They have to play that way,” said Powers. “Every team honestly has to play that way. They can’t match our skill, they can’t match our depth, and they can’t match our speed. They have to try to mess up the flow of the game a little bit and get guys going to the box and get guys out of their mindset.”
Tomorrow’s game should be more of the same. Arizona State will try to clean up their offensive play during its banner-raising night. Arizona will come back as feisty as they were tonight and try to muscle their way past Levin and the Arizona State defense. Coverage of the banner raising and the succeeding game can be found at http://cronkitesports.com/live-broadcasts/ at 7:20 PM.
