Sun Devils return home for series against Omaha

(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)

The first-ever National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) series comes to Tempe this weekend as the Arizona State men’s hockey return to Mullett Arena.

After playing on the road for over a month and having eight of their first 10 games on the road, Sun Devil Hockey (3-6-1, 0-2-0) returns back to Mullett Arena for a two-game series against the Omaha (2-6-0, 0-2-0). Both teams come into the series after getting swept a weekend ago and will be looking to right the ship early in conference play.

The Sun Devils traveled to then No. 8 Colorado College, where they made history and played in their first-ever NCHC games. ASU snuck away with a conference point after going to overtime in game one, but they ended up losing 4-3. ASU had the lead late in the game with under a minute to go, but CC tied it to force overtime. Then game two saw the Sun Devils lose 3-1 in regulation.

“We really liked how we played, both games,” head coach Greg Powers said. “We felt like we were the better team for the majority of the weekend. Friday stings obviously, when you have the lead late and you don’t close it out just like we did against Air Force and lose in overtime, it’s a real big stinger.  I loved how we bounced back with the effort Saturday and we ran into arguably the best goalie in the country, right? So, it is what it is, structurally, we’re again, playing really, really good hockey. We got to the net more Saturday than we had all season. The kid was just lights out.”

On the other hand, the Mavericks welcomed then No. 14 Western Michigan to Baxter Arena to kick off their first conference games of the year. Omaha lost both games: 2-1 in game one and 4-2 in game two. The Mavericks have not tasted a victory since they played then-No. 5 Minnesota in Las Vegas in the 2024 Ice Breaker Tournament early in the season. They won the tournament by beating then-No. 14 Massachusetts 3-2 in overtime before picking up a 2-1 overtime win over the Gophers in the championship.

“Everybody in our league is a good team and we played Omaha so much through the years, they’re a really good team,” Powers said. “They’re gonna come in desperate, they’re gonna come in hungry and our guys know that, and so we have to not match that desperation and hunger, we have to surpass it, and if we do, we like our chances.”

Despite this being the first time both teams see each other as conference foes, this is not the first meeting between the two teams. The Sun Devils are 4-6-1 against Omaha all-time, but they won the last meeting 2-1 in overtime last season. This win also made ASU the 2024 Desert Hockey Classic champions. The Desert Hockey Classic is a tournament hosted by the Sun Devils, typically after the start of the new calendar year.

Scouting Omaha

Nebraska Omaha comes to Tempe struggling to find ways to win despite picking up two ranked wins to start the year. The Mavericks are under the direction of bench boss Mike Gabinet, who is entering his eighth year at the helm and boasts an overall record of 119-120-18 as the head coach.

Leading the way on the score sheet is senior forward Zach Urdahl. The Eau Claire, Wis. native leads the team in goals with four and points with six. Junior defenseman Jacob Guevin beats him in the assist category with three.

Junior goaltender Simon Latkoczy has been between the pipes for the first eight games. The native of Trencin, Slovakia, has spent his entire college hockey career with Omaha, playing 54 games in his first two years. His record matches the team at 2-6-0 with a goals-against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of .929. Latkoczy was the goalie that the Sun Devils faced last year.

Omaha is 0-2-0 on the road and 0-5-0 this season when trailing after two periods of play. The man advantage is converting a dismal 14.8% (4-for-27) of the time which is tied for 44th in the nation, however their penalty kill is tied with ASU and Michigan at 85.7% which is 19th in the nation.

Scouting ASU

The Sun Devils come into this weekend’s series with many question marks with a major one surrounding goaltending. Powers split the weekend in the net, with junior Gibson Homer getting the start in game one and senior Luke Pavicich getting the start in game two — something that he has done before. The numbers between the two are similar; Homer has a record of 2-3-1, while Pavicich is 1-3-0. Pavicich has a better save percentage at .917 over Homer’s .911 and has a slight lead in goals-against average at 2.27 vs. Homer at 2.35.

“Right now (Pavicich) is playing better hockey,” Powers said. “I think that’s pretty clear, we still believe in Gibby.  Gibby’s a great goalie, he’s a great kid, but right now (Pavicich), (in) the sample size he’s played better.  He’s been a little bit more calm and steady, I didn’t like Gibby’s game on Friday, I really like (Pavich’s) game on Saturday.”

Senior forward Ryan Kirwan leads the team in goals with six, while graduate defenseman Noah Beck leads the team in assists with 10; Beck also leads the team in points with 12. Sun Devil special teams are converting 20% on the power play, tied for 29th in the nation with Boston College. The faceoff dot has been a point of concern from Powers to start the year, and right now, the Sun Devils are 267-of-304 on faceoffs

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST Friday and 5 p.m. MST Saturday.