(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
The last time Arizona State Men’s Hockey was in Madison, WI, the circumstances were very different.
Fans packed the Kohl Center, the NCAA Tournament was well within the Sun Devils’ reach and their seniors were playing their last regular season game – completely unaware it would be the final contest of their collegiate careers.
This season, ASU (0-3-1) enters a two-game set with No. 15 ranked Wisconsin still in search of its first victory. The campaign looks different this year for the Sun Devils, too, as their 28-game, all-road-contest slate is set to take place against Big 10 opponents only.
“It’s a different looking schedule,” ASU senior forward Sean Dhooghe said of the adjustment. “We’re playing within two-to-three days or we’re playing within seven to 10. There’s a lot of adjustments when it comes to playing in the Big Ten. We’re seeing it everyday.
“You can be the better team and still lose. It’s unpredictable. It’s a weird league and a competitive league.”
The Sun Devils have been met with rule changes and scheduling adjustments through their four games thus far. Additionally, goaltender is still a work-in-progress, with junior Evan DeBrouwer and freshman Cole Brady still sharing starts while senior forward Johnny Walker is not expected to play against the Badgers due to a lower-body injury suffered against Michigan.
ASU is looking to solve those problems against a highly-touted Wisconsin squad which is coming off a dominant showing against Penn State on Monday and Tuesday.
“They’re obviously an offensive threat,” Dhoodge said. “They have a lot of talent.
Dhooghe knows the Badgers’ personnel first-hand. The senior transferred from Wisconsin to ASU over the offseason, and will be pitted against his brother and former teammate, Wisconsin senior forward Jason Dhooghe.
“He’s excited to be back here and play against his brother and some of his friends that he left,” head coach Greg Powers said.
Powers is hoping the 5-foot-3, 150-pound Dhooghe can score his first goal as a Sun Devil against the Badgers after a strong showing against Michigan State.
“He was really good against Michigan State,” Powers said. “The amount of chances he created and the energy he brought – he upset himself because he had glorious chances that he didn’t convert on. But he will. There’s no doubt. He’s doing the right things. He’s doing everything but getting that puck in the net. But it will happen.”
Facing his team for the first time since transferring, Dhooghe said he does not anticipate approaching the series any differently than the ones before or after it.
“I’m just going to treat it like any other game and as another opportunity to show up and be my best for the guys so we can get our first win,” he said.
Referring to No. 4 Michigan, Powers and the Sun Devils have already faced “the best team I’ve seen from a pure talent, skill and speed standpoint since we’ve been Division 1 and it’s not even close.” Now, they’ll face a Wisconsin team that is composed similarly to the highly-skilled team ASU encountered in February. Having played Michigan, though, Powers feels his team may be better prepared to face the Badgers this time around.
“We like how we’re playing defensively,” Powers said. “Even in the second game against Michigan, we did a good job holding them to the perimeter and not letting Cole [Brady] see shots.”
Wisconsin sophomore forward Cole Caufield – a 2019 first round pick of the Montreal Canadiens – is back after winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. Junior forward Roman Achan – who torched the Sun Devils in February – returns as well.
ASU will not have to deal with Alex Turcotte, K’Andre Miller and Daniel Lebedeff, though. All left for professional opportunities, with the first two signing NHL deals after as a result of first round selections.
“They have a lot of talent,” Dhooghe said of the Badgers. “They’re really good. They find the back of the net when they get opportunity – you saw that against Penn State. They’re fast and look to push the pace.”
The season is still young – just 20 college hockey teams across the country have played and the Badgers have played two more games than anyone else with six – but Wisconsin’s talent is already showing. It ripped No. 15 Penn State apart earlier this week, outscoring the Nittany Lions 13-6 and kept things much closer with the Wolverines than ASU did despite losing twice.
Powers knows it’s not going to be easy, a common trend during ASU’s Big Ten-only schedule.
“The focus is just defend, defend, defend and try and keep as many pucks as we can out of net,” Powers said. “If we keep that up, we’ll start to get some wins.”
Wisconsin could offer a chance for ASU to get back on track. The Badgers face-off percentage is equally as low as ASU’s, ranking No. 16 of 20 eligible teams (the Sun Devils are No. 17). However, ASU will have to count on itself to start scoring, not others teams’ deficiencies.
“We’re confident in our ability to start scoring,” Powers said. “When we do, it will come in bunches.”
Added Dhooghe: “It’s a mindset and a mentality heading into this week. We’re ready to rise to the occasion for it.”
