With six games under the team’s belt, Arizona State will now travel to the midwest to take on three teams in the Missouri Showcase.
The Sun Devils historic start to the season has led to a 6-0 record and a +23 goal differential, which is second-best amongst ACHA Division I teams.
Forward Andi Main and defenseman Abi McGee are part of a group of nine freshmen that have impressed early on. Main and McGee have combined for four goals and 11 points coming into this weekend’s showcase. However, no one has been more productive than the recently named captain, sophomore forward Kat Jones, and alternate captain, sophomore forward Danielle Dupont who, together, have amassed 12 goals this season.
If ASU is going to have success this weekend, Jones believes the team has to approach these upcoming games with a sense of confidence.
“We are confident in ourselves and in each other,” Jones said. “We know it’s going to require extreme dedication, determination, and heart, and I have no doubt we’re ready to give it our all.”
The Devils will need every ounce of offense they can get heading into Springfield. For head coach Lindsey Ellis, the team will need to focus on making plays on offense and executing against tougher competition.
“I think just playing to our full potential and connecting on passes, crashing the net,” Ellis said. “It’s really just the little things we understand that these are the best teams we’ve played yet in terms of what we’ve played so far.”
The first opponent ASU will face Friday is Aquinas College. Aquinas is 1-2 on the season and has been shutout twice in those losses. Saturday features a matchup between the Devils and McKendree University. The Bearcats finished last season with a 16-10 record, but haven’t hit their stride yet posting a 2-4 record in the team’s first six games.
Despite McKendree’s shaky start to the season, Coach Ellis believes it’s important for the team to minimize mistakes come Saturday’s game.
“We can’t lay back at all or they’ll capitalize on it we know that’s how good of a team McKendree is they’re going to capitalize on every one of our mistakes,” Ellis said.
The final game of this showcase will be against a Concordia University Ann Arbor team who are 0-4 and have allowed a whopping 47 goals in just four games this season. Not only is Concordia giving up goals, but the team as a whole has also only scored one goal thus far.
Although Concordia has yet to get its first win as a program, each game is just as important as the other in this showcase, and the Sun Devils are looking to replicate their early-season success during this road trip.
“We need to match their compete level this weekend,” Main said. “Need to come out strong like we have in our past 6 games. A key part of our past games is our ability to put pucks in net. I think that’ll be important for our success this weekend.”
While the Devils have played well to begin the season, this week’s practices were a chance to improve on a few important areas.
“We’ve been working on a strong neutral zone presence, as well as working on the components to a successful power play,” Jones said. “We’ve also focused on the speed and energy needed to compete effectively with the strong, fast teams we’re playing this weekend.”
This weekend’s set of games will be the team’s biggest test in the early part of the season and the Sun Devils seem to be ready for that challenge.
“I think the whole team is dialed in and really focused for this weekend,” Main said. “And keeping in mind we can’t take these teams lightly. Everyone is really pumped to take on tougher teams.”
