(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
It’s the moment ASU women’s hockey fans have been waiting for, as the team take the ice for the first puck drop this season on Friday and Saturday at AZ Ice Arcadia against the Grand Canyon Antelopes.
This is the second year in which the Sun Devils will face off against their Valley rival. Last season, ASU reigned supreme in their total matchups, finishing 3-1-1 for the season. The heated series sparked a fierce competition in a battle for the desert.
“I wasn’t there last year, but I know it was pretty heated,” junior Alisa Manny said. “It became a rivalry because there was a win and a loss but I’m excited to be on top.”
“It’s super exciting because we swept them last series,” Catherine Jones said. “It was so relieving because when we were in Colorado we were super tired because we didn’t have many lines and it was a hard trip … We shouldn’t have lost to them.”
Both teams struggled last season to find enough players to fill a roster. ASU finished the season having two offensive and defensive lines and one goalie.
But it’s a new season, which means a new team. ASU now has enough players to take their skill set to the next level
“I am just looking forward to having a lot more depth than we’ve had in previous years,” head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “More numbers and more able to be successful on the ice with the types of skills we have now.”
Grand Canyon also now has a full roster.
“We know they have a line of pretty solid players and full roster this year just like us,” Manny said. “So we’re definitely not going to underestimate them. We’re going to look out for those numbers that are definitely there.”
“It doesn’t really change our preparation at all,” Ellis said. “Playing against GCU, we know its a rivalry game anyways, so just the energy going into the game is really exciting from our end. From both ends actually.”
“The last games we played, they were kinda chippy,” Jones said. “We want to get back and then just blow them out so then they know we’re the best one in Arizona, they’re not.”
