ASU Hockey: Desert Hockey Classic presents tough tests for Sun Devils

(Photo: Tyler Paley/WCSN)

The Desert Hockey Classic, the first of tournament of its kind in Arizona, will take place on Jan. 8 and 10 at Gila River Arena. Along with the Sun Devils, the tournament will also feature powerhouses Yale, Michigan Tech and Connecticut.

Game one will feature two schools with a Husky as their mascot, UConn and Michigan Tech. ASU will duel Yale in game two. The winners and losers of each game will then play each other on Sunday. It will be the second and third games that ASU will play at Gila River Arena this season.

ASU head coach Greg Powers realizes the importance of the event not only for the school, but also for the state.

“I think it is big,” he said. “It is the first real exposure that college hockey fans have here in the desert to Division I hockey and it features three traditional, really good programs.”

While the event itself is monumental, the Sun Devils will have some serious work to do in order to come away with a win. Yale enters the tournament at No. 12 in the USCHO rankings, while Michigan Tech received the second-most amount of votes of the teams outside the poll. Connecticut is fresh off of a 5-2 victory over the Sun Devils, its second win of the season against them.

If ASU matches up against UConn in the second game, it would be their third matchup against them this season, which is more times than they have or are scheduled to have played any other team.

The Yale Bulldogs enter the tournament riding a three game winning streak, which has followed a previous three game losing streak. Their East Coast heavy schedule has led them to play some similar foes as ASU, such as RPI and Quinnipiac. The Bulldogs lost both games.

As you would expect from a team with their caliber, they are led offensively by experienced upperclassmen. Juniors Frankie DiChiara and Mike Doherty and senior Rob O’Gara have been the most productive players for the Bulldogs. O’Gara (Boston Bruins) is one of three Yale players to have been drafted by an NHL team. John Hayden (Chicago Blackhawks) and Matthew Beattie (Vancouver Canucks) are the other two. With decorated head coach Keith Allain (173 career wins, 2013 National Champion) at the helm, you can always expect the Bulldogs to be competitive, and this year is no different.

Michigan Tech boasts an 11-7-2 record, which isn’t extremely impressive until you factor in that they go head-to-head with opponents from the WCHA, one of the toughest conferences in college hockey. The Huskies have more than held their own in conference play so far, posting a 9-6-1 record.

The Huskies of UConn won just their sixth game of the season on Tuesday against the Sun Devils. They received two goals from Tage Thompson and Patrick Kirtland. Thompson has been one of their stars throughout the season.

With the loss on Tuesday extending their losing streak to nine games, the Sun Devils are in dire need of a win. They have seemingly been carried by Jordan Masters, who has five more goals than anyone else on the team. Poor goalie play and a lack of contributions from anyone besides Masters offensively have led to the losing streak.

If ASU can’t come away with a win in their two games this weekend, the road will only become more difficult, as the team’s next five NCAA games will be on the road where they will not have the same crowd support, making it imperative that they take advantage of the opportunity to win a home game.

While it may look bleak on paper, ASU does have a certain edge over the three teams.

“We are home and will be sleeping in our own beds,” Powers said. “We will have good nutrition all week and our players are fired up to finally play at home.”

Puck drop for the start of the tournament will be at 5 p.m. on Friday. ASU will play its opening game at 8 p.m. The Sun Devils are scheduled to begin their second game at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

You can contact Jacob Janower via e-mail or on Twitter @JanowerJacob

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