(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)
TEMPE – The old adage goes, defense wins championships, but for Arizona State, its best defense has been a better offense. Coming into the Desert Hockey Classic, the Sun Devils were 9-1-1 in games they scored three or more goals, and their potent offense did not even graze the brake pedal in the tournament opener against Alaska Anchorage on Friday night.
ASU (10-10-1, 4-5-1 NCHC) thumped the Seawolves (3-12-0) at Mullet Arena, putting on an offensive clinic with a season high seven goals in a 7-2 victory, ringing in the new year in dominant fashion.
“It was a really good team effort,” head coach Greg Powers said. “You can’t complain about winning a game 7-2, and we get to play for a trophy tomorrow.”
ASU’s offensive onslaught has been relentless over the past few weeks, scoring five or more goals in three out of its last four games, marking the first time it has scored a fistful of goals since the Ice Breaker Tournament in October. The improved attack stems from a few major factors, the first being a more persistent forecheck.
“We have established what our standard needs to be for this team to be successful,” Powers said, “and it is establishing a forecheck.”
ASU’s forecheck acted as a blanket against Alaska Anchorage on Friday night, smothering their defense in order to force turnovers, creating numerous second-chance efforts. Seamless rotation between players in the offensive zone created layers that the Seawolves were unable to break through.
The Sun Devils’ forecheck seemed to have more energy and physicality, with players finishing hits at every given opportunity, causing Alaska’s defensemen to cough up the puck all night long while wearing them down over the course of the game.
With freshman forward Jack Beck and sophomore forward Sean McGurn out due to injury, younger players had to step up in order for the Sun Devils to clock offensive shifts. ASU’s fourth line, featuring freshmen forwards Ben Kevan, Braxton Whitehead, and Carmelo Crandell, displayed a next man up mentality, providing a lot of energy to a banged-up Sun Devil roster.
“I thought [Kevan], [Crandell], and [Whitehead] were really good tonight.” Powers said. “[They brought] tons of energy, they were forechecking, they were putting pucks in behind, they were buzzing.”
The three freshmen are not the only line that has been steaming in the Sun Devils’ last four games, as senior Bennett Schimek, sophomore Cullen Potter, and senior Cruz Lucius have been blazing through everyone they have faced.
Potter notched his first hat trick as a Sun Devil tonight, providing nearly half of ASU’s tallies with an assist to boot. Lucius assisted all three of Potter’s finishes, after burying one of his own to open the scoring for the Sun Devils. Although Schimek did not make his way onto the scoresheet, his presence was still felt as Powers’ top line has been reading the game in the same language as of late.
“[Lucius] is a really skilled player, and he finds me a lot of times, so it is super fun playing with him,” Potter said. “Just our whole line, even [Schimek], we have been really clicking recently . . . it is a lot of fun, and I have been having a blast playing.”
Lucius sits tied for the NCAA’s top spot for points at 30, while sitting at eighth in the country for goals at 12. Schimek is hot on his heels in the points race in second at 29. Both players are raising serious eyebrows, making a strong case for the Hobey Baker Award. Potter has also been scorching, notching at least one point in 11 out of his last 12 games with 19 of his 23 points coming in that same stretch.
“You could argue on most nights they are the best line in college hockey right now.” Powers said, “Even at Duluth against that incredible line that they have, they put up five goals, so it is clearly clicking on all cylinders.”
The final missing piece that has fallen into place is ASU’s improved net front presence. To start the year, the Maroon and Gold were not going to the dirty areas of the ice to create opportunities, playing an outside brand of hockey, but the one constant in the offensive zone against the Seawolves was a guy right on top of the blue paint.
Potter netted two from below the tops of the circles, and Lucius’ strike was largely due to a screen in front from Schimek, who was able to create traffic in front. Not only does a man in the trenches take away a goalie’s vision, but it also leads to rebound chances and draws attention, creates more space through the seams, and in high-percentage areas.
“Perimeter teams are soft,” Powers said, “You don’t go to the net, you are not going to win, you are not going to score. You need to turn those grade C’s and grade B’s into grade A’s, and you do that with a net front presence, and you do that with a group of players that are willing to pay the price and make it hurt a little bit, and that is what our guys have done these last 11 games.”
