(Photo Courtesy: Billy Wuneburger)
The Sun Devils come back to Tempe welcoming the 12-3-0-1 Michigan Wolverines. The Sun Devils haven’t played at home since a month ago and will be splitting the series between Oceanside Arena and Mullett Arena.
ASU broke its 3-game losing streak against Denver, playing its first game in a month. The team looks to continue its newfound winning streak against the Wolverines, who are on a four-game winning streak that could reach five if the Wolverines win against GCU who they play the night before ASU.
The weekend series against the Pioneers saw some ASU players break out in offensive production. Freshman forward Amelia Smith collected eight points in the two games. Five of those points were goals. Smith only had two points before the series so this series will be a test for her.
Graduate forward Mason Walker hopes to continue his team-leading scoring after adding six points this past weekend. He leads ASU with 12 goals and is tied with graduate defenseman Flo Awde and freshman forward Camryn Kozak in lead for assists. His physicality and offensive production is going to be relied on in this upcoming series.
Freshman forward Julia Lindahl leads the Wolverines in points and goals with eight goals and 11 points in 16 games. Four of the Wolverines’ forwards have ten or more points in the 16 games they’ve played. Only two forwards for the Sun Devils have ten or more points this season.
A huge reason for Michigan’s success is its goalie. Sophomore goaltender Sandrine Ponnath has played all 16 games for the Wolverines. She has a 1.56 goals against average and a save percentage of .950. She has faced 475 shots this season which is double the amount of what ASU starter Hallie McClelland has faced.
ASU now finds itself with three viable options to put in the net. Junior goaltender Hallie McClelland has been the starter for most of the season including in its blowout losses against Liberty. Those losses have sunk her save percentage to .890 with a .322 GAA. The series against the Pioneers have shown that they have a solid backup and third-string goaltender. Sophomore goaltender Karsyn Hellman who has appeared twice in the season to relieve McClelland, started her first game in the weekend series, shutting out the Pioneers. Freshman goalie Quinn Eatinger started her first game as a Sun Devil in the second game of the series and shut out the Pioneers as well. It will be a tough decision for Coach Ellis on who to start.
A place where ASU can capitalize is special teams. The Wolverines are 29th in the ACHA in terms of special teams. They’ve only scored three times on their 82 powerplay opportunities. They’ve also allowed two shorthanded goals. ASU’s powerplay has scored ten times on 52 opportunities and is 13th in the league.
ASU has never played the University of Michigan in the ACHA. Both teams have three losses in the season with ASU having played four fewer games. Both teams look to gain points in the standings to make it to nationals.
The two teams face off on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15. Puck drop on the 14th is at 3:30 at Oceanside. Puck drop on the 15th is at 2 at Mullett Arena’s IcePlex.
