ASU Men’s Hockey: Koumontzis to continue playing with second line

(Photo: Patricia Vicente/WCSN)

During Tuesday morning’s practice, it may have been hard to tell that Arizona State had just come off of its first ever sweep of a top-ten team in program history. 

It was just another day at the office. 

However, even with the players moved on and preparing for Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday and Saturday, ASU head coach Greg Powers was incredibly pleased with how the team played against the Bobcats, securing the 5-3, and 4-1 victories. 

“Saturday was, I think, the model of what we want to do and how we want to play,” he said on Tuesday. “There was not much that we could do to do better, to be honest… We executed at a really high level, Saturday, and we want to continue to do that.”

Despite ASU losing more than 50% of faceoffs on the season so far, Powers applauded the team’s ability to control possession of the puck .

“We were much better Saturday [on faceoffs] than on Friday,” Powers said. “But it’s obviously a lot better when you start with possession. I think our possession was 55%-45%, Saturday. And we were under 50% on faceoffs. It’s obviously an area of improvement for sure.”

For the players, the previous weekend’s story — which was merely an afterthought during the week — was a sweep of then-No. 9 Quinnipiac. The two victories opened up a four-game winning streak after starting the season 1-3. Still, ASU has been absent from the USCHO polls, only receiving 28 votes to be ranked. Greg Powers could not care less.

“The USCHO poll means nothing,” he said. “It’s for paper champions. We don’t care. We care about one thing: We care about the PairWise, and we worry about ourselves.”

The Sun Devils have always taken pride in being the underdog. Last year they were not supposed to make the NCAA Tournament by any stretch of the imagination but did so against all odds. 

“We don’t care what anyone thinks about us,” Powers said emphatically. “Literally, anybody.”

Despite not being ranked in the USCHO standings, ASU currently sits at No. 14 in the PairWise rankings. In a tournament comprised of 16 teams, six conference champions are guaranteed a spot, while the final 10 are at-large bids. 

Read more about the PairWise here

Line shifting:

Powers said on Tuesday that sophomore Demetrios Koumontzis will fill the vacant centerman position on the second line where he will join freshman winger Logan Jenuwine. Powers noted that the move could end up being something that sticks depending on how well it works out.

“It’s got a ton of upside,” Powers said. “They have the potential to play together for a couple of years if it works.”

Jenuwine believes that no matter who is on the ice, or who has to fill the centerman role, he’ll be able to fit in with them.

“I mean, I’d like to hope (I fit in with any line),” Jenuwine said. “Hopefully whoever I get put with, or hopefully, [Austin] Lemieux and Koumo can stay together. And that we can produce and help the team out.”

In the last three games, the second line (including injured junior forward Filips Buncis) has scored eight total points.

If the line can continue its production, ASU chances against Alaska-Fairbanks are markedly increased.

Injury update:

Powers shared with media members on Tuesday that senior forward Brett Gruber and junior forward Filips Buncis will miss this weekend’s tilt due to unspecified injuries. Both are expected to be healthy for the series against Vermont on Nov. 29-30.

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