ASU outclasses by Western Michigan in road loss

Like every good video game, there are levels to NCAA hockey. In the world of college hockey, Arizona State entered Kalamazoo to duke it out with one of the country’s final bosses, No. 4 Western Michigan. Teetering on the NCHC cut-off line, with only three series left in their season, the Sun Devils are running out of time and losses if they want to avoid being eliminated.

ASU (13-17-1, 6-12-1 NCHC) lost a little more time and a little more life after getting dismantled by the reigning national champion Broncos (21-8-0, 13-6-0 NCHC), who glided to a 6-2 victory in front of the Lawson Lunatics, showing the Sun Devils that they are not on their level.

The Sun Devils’ biggest struggle in Friday’s series opener was the lag they experienced coming out of the gates. Western Michigan caught ASU on the back foot, notching three goals in the first 13 minutes of play and jumping out to an early lead.

First-period performance has not been a struggle for the Maroon and Gold this season as they have outscored opponents 28-27 in the open frame, but it has been a new internal challenge every night for head coach Greg Powers and the Sun Devils all season.

Although three goals beat senior goaltender Connor Hasley in the opening frame, it was the defense in front of him that was spotty. With ASU’s most physical piece, senior Tucker Ness, playing forward in lieu of injuries, it felt the loss of his physical abilities. The Sun Devil blue line struggled to box out opponents in front and keep shots to the outside, pitting them against an uphill climb.

Defensive inconsistencies have plagued ASU all year, a large reason being the injury bug. The Maroon and Gold have struggled defensively with the loss of their depth up front. The defensive presence of two centers in sophomore Cullen Potter and freshman Braxton Whitehead has been highlighted as they both have been sidelined for the last four games — a stretch where ASU has surrendered 18 goals.

Hasley was likely the only reason the Sun Devils were able to stay in the game, as he ended the night with 40 saves on 46 shots from the Broncos. With two late goals from Western Michigan, one being an empty netter, ASU now has a -21 goal differential in the third period. It has also allowed 12 empty netters this season.

Scoring has been a struggle with the absence of two of the Sun Devils’ top-six scorers in Potter and freshman forward Jack Beck. In the seven games since Potter sustained his season-ending injury, ASU has been held to two or fewer goals in three of them.

The depth scoring has been scattered with a new face stepping up every night. While that might seem like a positive, the lack of consistent scorers has Powers and the Sun Devils wondering what they are going to get offensively on any given night.

On Friday against Western Michigan, it was senior forward Kyle Smolen who stepped up, potting both of ASU’s goals, to keep it kicking in the middle stages of the game, an effort that was ultimately wiped out by three straight Bronco goals.

Another tale of Friday’s game came on special teams. The Broncos were able to go 2/4 on the power play, outclassing ASU’s penalty kill that held St. Cloud State to a 1/6 mark in last weekend’s series.

Western Michigan entered the series with 15 straight penalty kills, extending that streak to 18 after ASU went 0-for-3 on the power play. Two of its man advantages came in the third period, as the ninth-best power play in the nation was boxed in and shut down Friday.

While the Sun Devils were routed in Kalamazoo, other action around the NCHC did not hurt them as much as it could have in the standings. ASU is only one point ahead of Omaha and one behind Colorado College, meaning any game can rewrite a team’s season.

Luckily for the Sun Devils, the Mavericks fell short to No. 8 Denver, and the Tigers lost to St. Cloud State in overtime, keeping ASU in the green for the NCHC playoffs and still only one game behind Colorado College.

Despite being dominated on Friday, ASU has found five-star success on Saturdays against teams ranked in the top ten, winning four out of five Saturday games against the nation’s best. The Sun Devils have fumbled their last three series finales but will look to end that streak in Kalamazoo.

Saturday’s tilt marks ASU’s fifth-to-last game on the season, as every game grows more important than the last. With time slipping through their fingers, the Sun Devils will need a much-improved performance in their boss battle to share a series split with the Broncos and avoid moving one step closer to the credits rolling on their season.