ASU Hockey: Sun Devils return home for two against Southern New Hampshire

(Photo: Gabrielle Mercer/WCSN)

The Arizona State Sun Devils will get a bit of a break from their treacherous early season schedule this weekend as they will host Southern New Hampshire, a Division II NCAA team, in the first two games of the season at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.

The Sun Devils are coming off a pair of difficult road trips that left them expecting more as a team. They split two games in Alaska, although they were very close to winning both, and were swept in three games in Connecticut against Division I opponents, including the No. 17 Quinnipiac Bobcats. Right now, the Sun Devils are 1-4 in NCAA play and 2-4 overall.

Even though Oceanside Ice Arena has its shortcomings, head coach Greg Powers is excited to return to the after a long time off.

“It’s humbling coming back to Oceanside,” Powers said. “It’s a little dose of reality, but we’re happy to be back and get into a routine with practice and classes.”

Previous results aside, the home ice should give the Sun Devils a minor advantage at the very least, simply due to the familiarity that the team has with it. Oceanside has been home to ASU hockey since 1985.

Their opponents, the Southern New Hampshire Penmen, are at a much different point of their season than the Sun Devils.  Their first two games of their season will come this weekend against ASU. They finished with a 10-12-2 record last season, playing almost exclusively against Division II NCAA opponents. They finished towards the bottom of their conference, with just a 3-7-1 record in Northeast-10 play.

However, if they play anything like they did last season on the road, these two games will not be easy for ASU. The Penmen finished at 6-5-1 away from Manchester last season, significantly better than their record at home. Among teams they have played so far this season, SNHU is the most evenly matched with the Sun Devils.

A big storyline to watch for ASU this weekend is the goalie situation developing between junior Robert Levin and freshmen Ryland Pashovitz and David Jacobson.

Levin did not practice on Wednesday and received minimal playing time. Powers said it was due to a tweaked ankle and that Levin is not likely to play this weekend, meaning Pashovitz and Jacobson will get time in net.

“He (Jacobsen) played well last weekend after he came in against UCONN,” Powers said.

Despite being the third-string goalie at the beginning of the season, Jacobson has worked his way into the goalie rotation, and has allowed just one goal in 37 minutes of play this season. Pashovitz has received three starts this season, the most of the three net minders, but has a save percentage of just .914. Some of that was due to playing strong offensive teams, so Powers will be able to get a better look at Pashovitz over the weekend.

Since both freshman will get almost equal playing time in the next two games, their play could help determine who gets more game action down the road.

The Sun Devils will look to resolve this battle and add a couple to the win column at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.  You can watch both games here.

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

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