At the start of the 2025-26 season, Arizona State was ranked No. 14 in the NCAA. Entering its last three series of the year, it is now fighting to keep its season afloat. ASU has been navigating its challenging conference schedule, and with No. 4 Western Michigan awaiting, the waters are not getting any smoother.
The Sun Devils are coming into the series in the midst of the worst stretch of their entire season: being swept by then-No. 4 North Dakota, splitting two games against Colorado College, and dropping both bouts to St. Cloud State. With two of those three series coming on home ice, head coach Greg Powers and his squad look to find their sea legs with a road trip to Kalamazoo.
“We get six games to get playing really good hockey heading into playoffs,” Powers said. “We have already proven we can beat everybody in the league because we have. We have not played these guys yet, so hopefully we can go in and at least get a win this weekend, get some points, and get back on track.”
ASU has fared decently in games against top-ranked opponents, going 4-8 against teams ranked inside the top ten while managing series splits with four out of its six top-10 matchups. Three of those splits also came in enemy territory.
The Sun Devils have played up to their level of competition and proven they can play against top teams even when on the road. With the Broncos’ Lawson Lunatics backing a top-ranked team, the Maroon and Gold will have to surf through chaos yet again.
“Have fun with it,” Powers said. “Use it as fuel and enjoy it. It is a privilege to play in front of fans that passionately cheering against you, and our guys are going to treat it like that.”
The Broncos are the reigning NCAA Champions after a historic season, but ASU was the only team to actually win a weekend series against them last year, securing four out of six possible conference points. The Sun Devils won Friday’s game in regulation, followed by an overtime loss with an extra point to propel them past the then-No. 3 team in the country.
Western Michigan is the only team in the NCHC that ASU has not played this season, but drawing from its past experiences could prove to be a hidden pearl in an increasingly important series.
“Obviously, a much different situation this year.” Powers said. “It is a situation where, very frankly, we have probably more to gain than they do, and we have to play like that. We have to play, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose because we don’t have anything to lose . . . There are no trophies on the line for us right now, and we are fighting for playoff positioning. We have everything to gain, and there aren’t a lot of people that are in our corner right now that believe in what we can do, so we have everything to gain.”
The Sun Devils have much more at stake than they did last season, given the NCHC standings. Coming into the weekend, they sit one point out of last place, with the only team behind them being Omaha. Colorado College is also only one point ahead of ASU, putting them within striking distance.
Omaha had a bye week last weekend, giving the Sun Devils an opportunity to build some cushion. After ASU lost on home ice to the Huskies both nights, the Mavericks have an opportunity to put it on the hot seat with their series against No. 8 Denver this weekend.
“We are obviously upset with the results last weekend,” Powers said. “You go back to the last eight games and [we] have to figure out a way to get over that hump . . . this team has been through it all. We have won in big moments and delivered in big moments, and these last six games, we got to bring more of those out of ourselves.”
The main story for ASU this season has been the injury bug. Sophomore forward Cullen Potter and freshman forward Jack Beck were ruled out for the season, meaning secondary scoring has to step up. With such an inexperienced team, the Sun Devils’ young crop struggled to float into a routine early in the season, but the tides have started to shift.
One of the names that has taken the biggest stride is freshman forward Sam Alfano, who has notched points in six out of his last seven games. Sophomore Noah Powell has also stepped into a bigger role, potting two goals in last weekend’s series against St. Cloud State.
Freshman forward Braxton Whitehead was also ruled out for the weekend by Powers, meaning senior defensemen Tucker Ness will be filling in at fourth line center for the second weekend in a row.
“They are starting to get it,” Powers said. “They are really starting to get what it takes to win at this level, and it was a lot of fun to see. It just did not yield the result that we wanted, but if they stick with this process, it will yield the results.”
ASU’s third-to-last series in Kalamazoo marks the season’s final stretch, a stretch where every game is more important than the last. With the middle of the NCHC standings separated by just a couple of games, the battle for a playoff spot and favorable seeding is at its crest.
Western Michigan’s direct style of play will force the Sun Devils to play two hard, consistent nights of hockey if they want to come back to Tempe with some points in hand. Their bout against the country’s fourth-best team gives them a key opportunity to build a wave of momentum entering the playoffs.
“We still control the narrative and how this season ends,” Powers said. “That is something our guys have within their grasp. They just got to take it.”
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