(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)
It doesn’t take a math wizard or a statistics major to figure out that as long as Arizona State hockey (20-9-3) keeps winning, they’ll find themselves with back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
With just four games to go in the regular season, ASU enters into their final homestand this season against the University of Alaska-Anchorage (4-15-5) ranked in the top-10 in the USCHO poll for the first time in program history at No. 10.
“I think it speaks volumes to how hard our players have worked to get us to where we are,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “Every one of these kids, especially the seniors, came here when we were literally nothing…They made us into what we are today…They’re not content with just being a top-10 team.”
The weekend’s tilt will come with a Jekyll and Hyde appearance from the outside. The Sun Devils enter into Friday’s game with a No. 10 ranking in the PairWise rankings while the Seawolves find themselves five spots from dead last, ranked 56th.
Struggling Seawolves
UAA enters the weekend in desperate search for a win. The team has gone nearly a full month without recording a win (A 5-1 victory over Alabama-Huntsville Jan. 17), and in dire need to get the power play jump started. The Seawolves have gone four games without recording a power play goal (0-11), and have only converted on two of their last 19 attempts (10.5%).
Similarly, UAA’s penalty kill hasn’t been faring any better, giving up six goals on 19 attempts (68.4% PK).
Even still, the Seawolves managed to pull off a shocking 2-2 tie against No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth two weeks ago on the hands of a 35 save showing by junior goaltender Kris Carlson.
If the Seawolves want any chance of beating the Sun Devils, they’ll have to throw their trust into senior forward Luc Brown who is second in the team’s points with 14 in just 12 games played. He’ll be someone to look out for as he enters this weekend off the back of a four point outing against Bowling Green last weekend.
Finish Line in Sight
For the Sun Devils, however, a berth into the NCAA tournament is just on the cusp of reality. Add in the fact they’ve won nine of their last 10 games, the Sun Devils look to keep the train moving at a steady speed.
ASU’s success can be partly related to two very strong aspects of play: First, is the scoring prowess of top-linemates and juniors James Sanchez and Johnny Walker. The duo have combined to accumulate 66 of the team’s 283 points (23.3%). Secondly, the team’s success can also be accredited to sophomore goaltender Evan DeBrouwer, who has 2.40 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 30 games.
To top it off, the Sun Devil penalty kill has been incredible as of late, not allowing a single power play goal since January 5 (26 straight penalty kills).
Senior Send Off
This weekend will be a bit more special than your typical series at Oceanside Ice Arena. As it’s the last home series of the year, the Sun Devils will honor their five graduating seniors: captain defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk, his brother, forward Steenn Pasichnuk, captain and forward Tyler Busch, Brett Gruber, and graduate transfer goalie Max Prawdzik.
This group of seniors (minus Prawdzik) will mark the program’s first full-time four-year graduating class.
“This is a senior night that will never happen again,” Powers said. “These guys are the foundation of what we’re building here and we wouldn’t be here without them.”
After media availability, Brinson Pasichnuk had a chance to reflect on his last four years with the team, “I’m just very grateful that God brought me here,” Pasichnuk said. “It’s been the best four years of my life, for sure. This place has given me so much; So many brothers, incredible memories…found my wife here. This place just changed my life completely, and I am forever grateful for it.”
The Pasichnuks, as well as the other three seniors will get one more final ride at Oceanside Ice Arena, before saying goodbye to the barn for good.
“Honestly, I don’t know if that’s even sank in yet,” Brinson Pasichnuk said. “You know it’s going to happen one day, your senior night. But you never really grasp how emotional it’s going to be until that night actually happens. It’s going to be a sad night, I’m not going to lie…It’s been the most incredible journey I’ve ever been on.”
