No. 10 ASU continues homestretch with rematch at Minnesota Duluth

(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)

In early December, Arizona State hosted Minnesota Duluth for the team’s last in-conference series during the first half of the season. While the Sun Devils came away with the first home sweep of an NCHC opponent in program history, it took staving off a sudden third-period comeback and an overtime game-winner to stave off the Bulldogs.

Fast-forward two months later, ASU is firmly in the season’s homestretch with everything left to gain. Six games remain while both home-ice advantage during the NCHC tournament — awarded to the conference’s top-four regular-season teams — and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament hang in the balance.

To get one step closer to those feats, No. 10 Arizona State (17-10-1, 12-6 NCHC) must go on the road to AMSOIL Arena for a two-game set in a second go-around against Minnesota Duluth (10-15-1, 6-10 NCHC).

“I think it’s an advantage if you will for both teams,” associate coach Alex Hicks said. “You kind of know their personnel. You know they’ve got some good freshmen. You know they got the Plante brothers that are incredible players. That’s the first time we saw them, the last time we played. So we know what they’re capable of. We know their speed.”

Minnesota Duluth, while one of the most decorated programs in college hockey, has struggled with consistency throughout the season. Despite winning against Denver and Colorado College, the Bulldogs haven’t won a series outright since Jan. 11 and are coming off a sweep at the hands of Omaha. UMD has been 5-5-1 and 4-4 in NCHC play since the series against ASU in December.

Over half of Duluth’s roster classifies as either freshmen or sophomores with several of them being NHL draft picks in previous years. Freshman forwards Max and Zam Plante, a second and fifth-round pick respectively, both rank top-five in individual points on the team. Freshman forward and Tampa Bay Lightning fourth-round pick Jayson Shaugabay leads the team with five power play goals.

On the other end, sophomore defenseman and Minnesota Wild fifth-round pick Aaron Pionk leads the team in assists with 18. The Bulldogs’ defense has also gotten a major boost from freshman goaltender Klayton Knapp. Raising his save percentage from below .900 to .913 since the start of 2025, Knapp looks to redeem himself after allowing four goals to ASU in the series opener.

Senior forward and Chicago Blackhawks second-round pick Dominic James has been the true standout for the Bulldogs. The Duluth team captain and Hobey Baker Award nominee leads the team in both points and goals on the season.

“I think the only thing we need to get better at that we didn’t do very well in the first series was creating quality opportunities and getting to their goalie, so if we can do that and we can stick to what we did against Denver this weekend, I think we’ll be alright,” sophomore forward Kyle Smolen said.

The past weekend saw Arizona State ride an overtime game-winner from junior forward Bennett Schimek to a home split against No. 6 Denver. Although the Sun Devils still rank out as the second-best in the country, the series saw the power play unit finish 1-of-6 in a dip in performance compared to its previous pace. The 15th-ranked penalty kill fared better after shutting out the top-ranked power play on Friday, but a sluggish 2-of-4 showing the next game along with graduate forward Benji Eckerle suffering a season-ending injury will require senior forward Ryan Kirwan to have a bigger role in shorthanded situations.

“He was imperative in those opportunities,” Kirwan said. “We’ve got to step up now so I’m ready for it and ready to help the team win any way possible.”

Kirwan recorded his team-leading 19th goal of the season against Denver on Saturday while also holding the top spot in power play goals with 5. Bennett Schimek’s three goals during the series has led to the forward splitting the title for most individual points with Kirwan at 29 apiece. Graduate defenseman Noah Beck notched an assist in both games against Denver, moving him ahead of graduate forward Lukas Sillinger for most assists with 22.

Sillinger himself went on a tear during the Denver series, scoring three goals and extending his point streak to five straight games. Following a mostly quiet first half to the season, the new calendar year has revitalized the forward. Since Jan. 3rd, Sillinger has scored six goals, recorded 11 assists, and has managed at least a point in 10 out of the last 12 games.

“[Sillinger’s] a great leader,” Kirwan said. “He’s somebody we all look up to and he’s such a special player. He works so hard. He’s at the rink until 1 p.m. every single day. He’s here all the time, and he just loves hockey so we feed off of him. Yeah, it’s great to see him get intense like that.”

On top of Benji Eckerle being lost for the year, an undisclosed injury caused graduate forward Dylan Jackson to miss both games against Denver. As of now, it’s still uncertain whether or not the veteran will return to the ice for the Sun Devils in the near future.

“I know that he’s progressing, but we just want him to be ready for the stretch drive,” Hicks said. “But I don’t have a definitive answer.”

ASU is tied with No. 20 Omaha for second place in the NCHC standings at 37 points. The Sun Devils sit behind No. 3 Western Michigan who are at 40 points. No. 17 North Dakota occupies fourth place with 28 points and No. 6 Denver is in fifth place with 27 points. This weekend sees Omaha at Western Michigan, North Dakota at Denver, and Miami at Colorado College.

The Sun Devils remain No. 13 in the PairWise Rankings with a current 11% chance of being the 12th seed in the NCAA Tournament. This means Arizona State is fighting for the right to be one of the last teams to gain a potential auto bid as only the PairWise’s top 12 teams at the end of the regular season get that reward.

“I think you just have to keep winning at the rate that we are,” associate coach Alex Hicks said. “You’ve probably got to win four of six, give or take. But with that being said, we’re not looking at the safety net. We’re kind of looking at ‘let’s just keep winning. Let’s win Friday, and if we win Friday, let’s win Saturday.’ And then everything will take care of itself, so it’s kind of a one game at a time, one series at a time kind of thing.”

Puck drop is set for Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:07 p.m. MST and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5:07 p.m. MST.