The Sun Devils have clinched home-ice advantage in the NCHC Quarterfinals for the first time as NCHC conference members and in their first season.
The first of two games for No. 12 Arizona State (19-12-2, 14-8-1 NCHC) went the way of the Sun Devils as they defeated Omaha (16-14-1, 12-8-1 NCHC) by a final score of 4-1.
The importance of the NCAA tournament implications can not be overshadowed, either. If the Sun Devils want to continue their run in the postseason, they will need to be in the best possible spot in the PairWise Rankings. Even with Friday’ win, the ASU stayed at No. 16 in the PairWise.
The Sun Devils dealt the Mavericks their first home loss since Jan. 4, when they lost a non-conference game to UMass Lowell, 3-2, and their first conference home loss since getting swept by Western Michigan back on Nov. 8-9.
ASU remains second in the NCHC standings; however, with No.4 Western Michigan beating North Dakota 6-4, the Broncos have won the regular-season championship and taken home the Penrose Cup. Denver sits third with 39 points and Omaha sits fourth with 38 points. ASU is not yet locked into second place because Omaha could still pick up nine points: three with a win on Saturday and six more with a weekend sweep of North Dakota to end the regular season next weekend. If they did that, they would tie ASU with 47 points.
The tiebreaker would then be decided by determining the team with the best NCHC regular-season regulation winning percentage. If that doesn’t work, other tie-breaking methods will be used. Denver could leap-frog ASU and Omaha if they pick up nine points in their remaining three games, and it would end the year with 48.
Baxter Arena roared as the start of the third period neared, and a banner reading “Unleash the Fury,” was unveiled in the crowd as both teams entered the ice. However, things didn’t go as planned for the Mavericks once the puck was dropped.
Freshman forward Cullen Potter got his second of the night not even two minutes into the period. Junior forward Bennett Schimek found Potter skating with speed through the neutral zone and didn’t hesitate to pass him the puck. After receiving the pass, Potter turned on the jets, beating the defense and roofing the puck over junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy. ASU tacked on another before the 10-minute mark as graduate forward Artem Shlaine found his way into the goal category. Despite a dominant third period for ASU, it was not always that way.
Special teams was the name of the game in period one between Arizona State and Omaha, as both teams got a marker while on the man-advantage. Sun Devils sprung out of the gates fast, controlling the first ten minutes, and Potter got things started just past the five-minute mark of the first period. Sophomore defenseman Anthony Dowd dropped it to Potter at the left circle, and the Minnesota native fired it home.
Potter extended his point streak to three games and continues to be a bright spot in the Sun Devils’ lineup. He now has five points in his last three games, including a two-goal effort against Western Michigan last Saturday and another two-goal effort in game one tonight.
After being dominated for most of the second half of the first period and a majority of the second as well, ASU found a way to take the lead 2-1. Overall shots through two periods were 40-29 in favor of the Mavericks; however, shots on goal were tied at 26-26. Omaha had 21 total shots in the first and 19 in the second, while ASU had 13 and 16.
The Mavericks had more chances but couldn’t seem to hit the net, and ASU blocked only six shots. Despite being outshot and outplayed for most of the second period, the Sun Devils took the lead 2-1 late. After battling in front of goaltender Latkoczy and pounding away for the puck, it came free to senior forward Ryan Kirwan, who finally put it over a sprawled-out Latkoczy. Head coach Mike Gabinet challenged for goaltender interference, but it was to no avail, and the goal stood. Then, as the period wound down, Schimek rang the post on a breakaway.
ASU did close in on the total shot margin in the third period, bringing the final total in that category to 49-45 in favor of Omaha. However, that is still better than what it was after the second.
Redshirt junior goaltender Gibson Homer was given the nod after being scratched last weekend against Western Michigan. He stood tall, turning away 32 of 33, and really held the Sun Devils in the game until the offense unloaded in the later half of the game. He only allowed the goal in the first period when Omaha had the man advantage.
The Sun Devils will play for a sweep of Omaha on Saturday, with puck drop set for 6:07 p.m. MST.
