(Photo: Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
Off the high of its best start in program history, it’s time for Arizona State Men’s Hockey to hit the road for the first time this season. Following last week’s sweep at home over Northern Michigan, the Sun Devils jumped five spots in the coaches’ poll rankings to move up to No. 13. On Friday, they will travel to Ohio to play a two-game series at Miami (OH), a future NCHC opponent, marking the first meeting between the two programs.
Miami (OH) will be fresh off a bye week and, similarly to ASU, will look to extend its three-game win streak. The Redhawks have scored at least four goals in all of its contests this season, so the defensive unit will be a critical key to success for the Sun Devils.
“They’ve had a good start as well. They’re going to be chomped up a bit for a ranked team to come in and knock them off, continue a great start,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said on Tuesday. “They’re one of only five or six teams that we haven’t played, so we’re excited to go and experience a great venue in Oxford and a great campus.”
Defense and special teams have been the biggest strength for ASU through its first four games, holding a Northern Michigan team that scored 10 total goals in Duluth a week prior to just three goals in Tempe. The Sun Devils’ special teams have allowed just two opponent power-play goals in 16 penalty kills. Offensively, they have turned their 10 power play attempts into four goals.
“We changed a little bit, but not too much, in our D-zone structure-wise, but it’s a mindset of killing plays and having good sticks,” Powers said. “We want guys with sticks down, taking away passes. When it’s five guys with sticks on the ice, it makes it tough to play against.”
“It’s taking bodies, finishing checks, killing plays, and when we do kill a play, get on offense and get out,” he added.
In the three games since their opening overtime loss at Ferris State, Miami has not allowed more than two goals in a game. Their special teams’ statistics parallel almost identically to the Sun Devils’: 2 power-play goals allowed through 15 kills and four-for-18 on their own power-play.
Senior forward Matthew Kopperud has made the biggest contributions on the ice for ASU, tying three teammates for the lead in points with four, leading the team with three goals, and adding one assist. All three of Kopperud’s goals have been game-winning goals, most significantly a short-range slapshot last Saturday that set the program record for career power-play goals with 26.
Meanwhile, RedHawks senior forward Matthew Barbolini currently holds a team-leading six points with three goals and three assists each and will look to continue his six-game point streak that dates back to last season. His 98 in-game appearances as a Redhawk put him in line to possibly play his 100th game on Saturday. Sophomore forward Artur Truansky leads the Redhawks with 14 shots on goal.
However, in light of each of these successes, arguably the biggest storyline of the week is the presence of former Sun Devil Teddy Lagerback, who transferred to Miami (OH) this summer after seven points through 30 appearances in his freshman campaign.
“We’re excited to see him. He’s a good kid,” Powers said of Lagerback. “When kids make a decision to go get something that they love that they weren’t going to get here, we support them. That’s the beauty of the portal now because kids have an opportunity to go get a second chance. We are proponents of it, and we’re looking forward to hopefully seeing him play.”
While ASU has had promising success in its four home games so far, the Miami series is the first road trip of the year for the Sun Devils. They compiled a winning season on the road in each of their tournament-qualifying seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20), but in the two seasons since the pandemic, ASU has gone just 9-22-1 on the road, marking one of the biggest roadblocks to their postseason hopes. With just 10 road games this season, ASU’s series in Ohio is among the team’s most important.
“This weekend is a big weekend for us. We don’t have as many road opportunities this year as normal, and you get rewarded in the Pairwise for winning on the road,” Powers said, “so getting a win or two this weekend will be big for us down the stretch.”
Puck drop for both nights will be at 4:05 p.m. AZ time (7:05 p.m. EDT). Games can be streamed via NCHC TV with a valid subscription or for free through Sun Devil Radio.
