(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
Arizona State looked like a team that had too much Thanksgiving turkey right before a couple of big tests last weekend and paid the price, getting swept by Nebraska-Omaha in a two-game series and taking a tumble in the national polls as a result.
After climbing to No. 16 a week ago, the Sun Devils slide down two spots to No. 18 in the latest USCHO top-20 rankings.
It’s the first time in program history ASU (10-6-0) has fallen in the ranking after it cracked the top-20 for the first time earlier this month. The Sun Devils earned a record-high 230 votes in last week’s poll only to lose half of them seven days later.
ASU also dropped four spots to No. 11 in the Pairwise rankings, which are used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee, with the pair of losses to an unranked Mavericks team.
A part of the Sun Devils’ recent slump has been the falter of their forwards. ASU was outscored 10-4 in the pair of losses against UNO.
With a lack of consistent offense over the road trip, coach Greg Powers jumbled up the combinations.
Sophomore forward Johnny Walker slotted down to the third line with senior forwards Anthony Croston and Dylan Hollman. The nation’s leading goal scorer has hit a cold spell, earning just one point in the last six games, which was the game-winning goal in overtime against Harvard two weeks ago.
With Walker moving to the third line, freshman forward Jordan Sandhu made his first appearance on the top line alongside freshman forward Demetrios Koumontzis and junior forward Tyler Busch.
The top blue line pairings have remained the same since day one with the only exception being sophomore defenseman Max Balinson replacing junior Jakob Stridsburg in a couple games during ASU’s six-game road trip.
Despite outshooting the Mavericks 71-50 in the series, the Sun Devils could not beat Omaha goaltender Evan Weninger with regularity, getting shut out in the series finale.
These line changes may stick around, but it’s important for the Sun Devils to rekindle the connections they ignited early into the year to continue the success they’ve built in the first half of the 2018-2019 campaign.
In goal, the Sun Devils have stuck to their gut with Joey Daccord. There is no doubt Daccord is a workhorse every time he takes the ice from practice to game. Starting all 16 games, the junior netminder leads the country with 956 minutes played and 440 saves.
His 2.45 GAA and .919 save percentage sit among the top-20 in the league. However, Daccord has fallen off the horse as of late, giving up 14 goals over the last four games.
The No. 18 Sun Devils have their first bye week of the season this week, looking to regroup and restore chemistry and confidence.
