(Photo: Josh Eaton/WSCN)
A season defined by constant obstacles and remaining stuck in second gear threw in a major curveball when Arizona State found out its star sophomore forward, Cullen Potter, would not return to the ice due to injury just three days before a series against No. 4 North Dakota.
Despite a critical loss in the midst of a push for the postseason, the Sun Devils (12-13-1, 5-8-1 NCHC) found a way to hold their own for four periods. The other two may have put the team in a dire situation with only five weeks remaining, but no alarm bells are ringing at Mullett Arena as the effort shown over the weekend is fueling hope for a strong finish to the year.
“The guys still believe, and there’s no reason not to,” head coach Greg Powers said. “With the youth we have, I mean it’s this close. But you know what they say about close, it’s good for what? Horseshoes and hand grenades, not hockey.”
ASU dropping both games to UND was due in large part to one familiar Achilles’ heel. The two-game sweep at Mullett Arena raises the Sun Devils’ number of losses in contests where they were within one goal entering or during the third period to 11.
Only scoring two combined goals in the final 15 minutes in both games, compared to seven goals allowed and seven penalties committed within that span, continues a long-running pattern that the team knows it cannot afford with so much at stake at this juncture of the season.
“Every game, we were in it going into the third,” Powers said. “This team has got to get over the hump with a better mindset on how to win those games.”
The Sun Devils are also placing a priority on improving their presence in their own zone after being outshot 89-55, including a 45-21 ratio on Saturday. Despite leading the NCHC with 383 blocks and winning faceoffs 52.3 percent of the time, ASU currently holds a -0.2 scoring margin; the second-worst in the conference in front of Omaha.
Injuries whittling down the number of players on the bench have resulted in longer shifts and a greater risk of exhaustion for a defensive unit featuring only two players who have played at least two seasons. In fact, 11 out of the 18 skaters who suited up on Saturday night for ASU were either freshmen or sophomores.
However, the team will receive a boost on defense from the expected return of freshman defenseman Lincoln Kuehne to the lineup this weekend.
“Defense wins championships, we always say, and that’s definitely a huge area we gotta improve in,” sophomore forward Logan Morrell said. “It’s an area we will improve in, and we’ll just continue to get better.”
The other side of the puck surprisingly hummed along despite missing one of its core pieces. ASU scored seven goals throughout the series, four of which came on the power-play, that were recorded by seven different players.
“Everybody chipped in and we didn’t get a goal from (senior forward Bennett Schimek) and (senior forward Cruz Lucius) all weekend,” Powers said. “We still put up seven. I think that’s a really good sign. Against a stout defense, we were able to generate.”
With Lucius and Schimek, along with junior forward Kyle Smolen, not scoring for Powers’ top line, they collected seven assists and set up scoring chances for the second and third line, who showed signs of being able to maintain an offensive identity without Potter.
The third line in particular continues to impress this season, with freshman forwards Sam Alfano and Morrell racking up two goals and an assist over the weekend.
ASU will need the offensive momentum to carry over into its road trip to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College (10-11-3, 4-7-3 NCHC), a team tied for the third-least goals (65) allowed in the NCHC. The prior series between both teams saw the Sun Devils rattle off three unanswered goals and defeat the Tigers in a shootout before dropping the finale in regulation.
Colorado College held ASU to four goals the entire series, but has since only won three of its last 14 games with an average of three goals given up per contest.
The Tigers’ struggles can be attributed to the No. 42 offense in the country and a power-play percentage sitting at 14.3 percent. Still, sophomore forwards Owen Beckner and Gavin Lindberg pose serious threats, considering they scored three total goals the last time they faced the Sun Devils.
Going up against senior goalie Kaidan Mbereko, who is carrying a 0.912 save percentage and previously held ASU to one goal with 35 saves, will be a good assessment for whether or not the Sun Devils’ vast array of youth can continue to step up and hold down the fort.
“I think I know that no matter what happens the rest of this season, what this group has been through and the core that we’re bringing back and that will be here moving into the future,” Powers said. “You could just see kids taking steps like Sam Alfano, like the step he took over the last month. I thought he was unbelievable for us this weekend.”
This weekend is crucial for determining how the NCHC tournament bracket may look towards the end of the season. ASU sits in seventh place (17 points) while Colorado College is tied for ninth (15 points), the lone spot in the standings that does not get a chance to play for an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Colorado College will remain ninth for another week if Arizona State wins one game in regulation, but can tie in points with two overtime wins and surpass in the case of a two-game sweep in regulation or a combination of a regulation and overtime win.
The Sun Devils will also look to improve their NPI ranking after falling to No. 28, although with the injuries and the possibility of slipping to last place in mind, more focus is likely to go to controlling their destiny in the five remaining in-conference series.
ASU kicks things off on Friday at 7 p.m. MST at Ed Robson Arena against Colorado College.
“We’re kind of just worried about conference play and winning our conference,” sophomore forward Ty Nash said. “Our out-of-conference games, I think we could have been a little bit stronger. And so, obviously, we do look at the NPI and all that, but I think our main focus right now is just getting in a good spot to help us win the NCHC playoffs.”
