Sun Devils clinch No. 2 seed for National Tournament

The American Collegiate Hockey Association released their National Tournament bracket Wednesday night, ranking the Sun Devils as the No. 2 overall seed.

The Sun Devils (30-6-0 ACHA) are only ranked behind the top-seed, Adrian College (28-3-1 ACHA).

“I’m happy with our No. 2 ranking. I think it puts us into a position that gives us a very good opportunity to make a good run at the championship,” captain Colin Hekle said. “[Our] No. 1 spot was nice to have but with our stretch of games after the break we deserved to lose that spot. I think we are back to where we were before the break and I couldn’t ask for a better time to be peaking.”

The second-seed means that the team has a first-round bye, and will face off against the winner of the Navy vs. Rutgers game.

“Personally I think it’s good and bad. First to play so many games in such a short period, it’s going to be beneficial have one less to play. On the other hand, early in the tournament it’s all about momentum and a team that has played may have that advantage,” Hekle said.

Hekle, who injured his shoulder two weeks ago against the University of Arizona at home, hopes to be back as soon as possible.

“I can play most likely in the U of A [road series]. But we might wait till nationals, just to be safe, and get an extra week off to be 100-percent,” Hekle Said.

The National tournament begins on March 1 at Robert Morris University in Chicago Ill.

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