No. 12 Sun Devils welcome No. 6 Denver in top-15 matchup

(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)

The race is on at the top of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), as eight games remain before the playoffs, and every point counts. An important six potential points are on the line for No. 12 Arizona State men’s hockey (16-9-1, 11-5-0 NCHC) as they welcome No. 6 Denver (19-6-1, 8-5-1 NCHC) to Mullett Arena for a two-game set.

The Sun Devils and the Pioneers met for a second time this season after ASU went to UD in November, where they ended up sweeping then-No. 1 Denver, 3-2 in game one and 5-2 in game two. Since that series, head coach Greg Powers has referenced that weekend as the standard for the program. To his credit, the team has lived up to that benchmark; they are 10-2-0 — excluding the exhibition series — in that span, with the two losses being to North Dakota in overtime and Colorado College. In that time, ASU also scored 56 goals and only allowed 27 to their opponent.

“It was the weekend that I think it really clicked with our guys were like, ‘Hey, we’re good.'” Powers said about the first Denver series. “It all came together, and we got the results that we all desire. I still don’t know if we’ve played as well as we played that weekend since. We played really well in stretches, but we’ve used that as our standard that we want to try and to meet every time we put on a jersey, and it’s going to require at least that to have success Friday, at least probably more.”

Before that series, the Sun Devils were only 4-7-1.

“I think a lot, and a lot of that is just with our team confidence and belief,” graduate forward Ty Jackson said when asked about how the team has grown since that series. “At that point, we felt like we were playing good games, and we were out playing teams, and we were out shooting teams, and we just couldn’t find a way to win. Then, that weekend, we found a way to win a couple of games, and since then, we almost have that confidence going into games, and we really believe that we can get the job done no matter who we’re playing against. So I think that’s where we’ve grown a lot, and then just trying to maintain that consistency is what’s going to be important down the stretch here.”

After being swept by Arizona State, Denver has gone 7-4-1 in that time, scoring 43 goals and allowing 27 to their opponent. The series will be the 15th and 16th meeting between the two programs all the time, and DU has the upper hand at a record of 9-4-1.

NCHC STANDINGS UPDATE:

Coming into the weekend, the Sun Devils sit tied with Western Michigan for first place in the NCHC conference standings with 34 points. Behind them is Omaha with 31 points, North Dakota in fourth with 25 and Denver in fifth with 24. The top four spots remain in high contention for the postseason as a chance to have home-ice advantage in the playoffs is on the line. Western Michigan faces off with St. Cloud State this weekend, Minnesota-Duluth against Omaha, and Colorado College takes on North Dakota.

SCOUTING DENVER:

The Pioneers come into the weekend series riding high after a weekend split with Omaha but, even more impressively, a weekend that saw them score a combined 14 goals. The first game was anticlimactic compared to Saturday’s, ending officially in a 3-3 tie — Denver proceeded to lose in a shootout. Saturday, the team hung up 11 unanswered goals. After going down 2-0 thanks to two power play goals from Omaha to start the first period, Denver lit up Magness Arena an offensive explosion. Junior forward Rieger Lorenz had two, along with freshman forward James Reeder. Denver also capitalized on the man advantage, going 2-for-3.

Denver reigns supreme on the power play, as they top the nation with a success rate of 32.3% when having the extra attacker. However, when having to kill off the man advantage, Denver has not seen the same success. They sit tied for 22nd with Umass Lowell at 82.2%. Denver’s power play prowess will force ASU to be dominant on the penalty kill.

“You have your identity on the kill, and we know what ours is,” Powers said. “It’s being aggressive and not giving them space. Being good on their entries and just not letting them set up. When you can pressure, you gotta pressure and be willing to eat pucks. Just doing all the things that we do, all the things that we look for in guys that kill, and they’re doing a great job.”

Sophomore forward Sam Harris leads the way for Denver in the goal column with 15 total this year in 25 games played. Harris also has eight assists for 23 points. The San Diego, California native also leads the team in power play goals with seven for a team total of 29. Senior forward Jack Devine leads the way in the assist category with 29 in 26 games played. The Florida Panthers draft pick also has six goals for 35 points.

“We know they’re going to be very hungry and obviously want payback,” graduate student defenseman Noah Beck said. “We would be the same way with teams that have swept us, and we know it’s going to be tough. They’re coming off an 11-goal game. Their offense is firing, so we gotta be prepared and sort of take it to them rather than let them take it to us right away.”

SCOUTING ASU:

ASU comes into the weekend after a road sweep of conference foe Miami. The Sun Devils won the first game handily 7-1 and the second game 4-1. However, the weekend did spell trouble for the team’s health. What was supposed to be the first time all year that the team was fully healthy never transpired, as graduate forward Benji Eckerle got hurt in warmups on Friday and is out for the year. Graduate forward Artem Shlaine was also injured during the series and is considered day-to-day.

“Benji, he burst his Achilles, he’s getting surgery [Tuesday],” Powers said. “Freak accident in his dynamic warmup on Friday. Heart goes out to him. Unfortunately, his career at ASU is over on the ice. But he’s such a good kid, such a positive leader, such a huge piece of our program, past and present; he’s got the most positive outlook out of anybody, and that’s just the kind of person that he is.

“So we’re going to carve out a new role for him and kind of make him a student coach, so to speak, and he’s not going to miss anything. We’re going to take him on every trip and do everything we can to incorporate just his presence into everything that we do the rest of the way.”

The Sun Devils have climbed to the top with their power play, ranking second in the nation only behind Denver on the man advantage. ASU converts when having an extra skater 29.7% of the time. They also are no slouch in killing off a penalty, holding the opposing team from scoring 84.4% of the time, which is 10th-best in the nation.

Graduate forward Ryan Kirwan leads the way in the goal department at 18 in 26 games. The next closest to him is Shlaine, with 10. Kirwans tied with sophomore forward Kyle Smolen for the most power play goals at five. Graduate forward Lukas Sillinger leads the team in assists with 21 in 24 games.

Goaltending continues to be a strong part of the Sun Devils game as well with senior goaltender Luke Pavicich getting the start and the win in both games against Miami Ohio. Pavicich was also in net the weekend ASU swept Denver on the road. Pavicich has won 9 of his last 10 starts, is 10-5-0 overall with a goals against of 2.19 and a save percentage of .918 in 15 games. Junior goaltender Gibson Homer is 6-4-1 overall, 2.38 goals against, and has a save percentage of .920 in 11 games played.

“They both [have] been awesome, and it’s in their numbers,” Powers said. “They both [have] won big games, and it’s nice to have two. When you go into a league like this, the first year, we felt like we needed two guys that we could really rely on, and they’ve both been great and reliable. [Pavicich] I think, is nine and one in his last 10 starts.

“The Miami weekend [I] think going in, the intention was to split, but I just felt like he was so steady and calm on Friday, it just made sense to go back with him on Saturday. It was a must win, and he’s feeling it right now. So you haven’t seen the last at Gibby. Gibby is ready to go. Gibby will be great the next time he’s in the net, and we’ll just have to see when that is.”

Puck drop is set for Friday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. MST and Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. MST.