(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
Tempe, AZ – With the final bye week now behind No. 18 Arizona State Hockey (20-6-6), they will hit the ground running with only six games remaining in the season, with four taking place in Alaska.
This weekend, it’s a familiar foe for the Sun Devils, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (13-13-2). The Nanooks most recently made the trip to Tempe just under two weeks ago, where Arizona State was able to come away with a sweep of the Nanooks for the first time since 2018.
Diving into the history books, Arizona State has never been able to sweep the Nanooks at the Carlson Center. The best they have ever done is secure a split back in 2019, which is also their most recent win on the road. Since then, ASU hasn’t beaten the Nanooks period until sweeping them at home. All-time, the Sun Devils are 2-4-1 on the road.
Getting swept on that road by ASU for the Nanooks did not treat them nicely, as it added to a four-game skid that was sandwiched between a loss to Alaska Anchorage before coming to Tempe and capped off with a 4-0 loss to Long Island University in game one. However, they railed for a 4-0 win in game two.
The last time out for Sun Devil hockey saw the return of Ty Jackson from injury. The senior forward had been out since the Colorado College series and now returns in prime time to help close out the season. In his return, Jackson potted a goal and an assist in both games during the series, helping the Sun Devils to a 2-0 win in game one and a 4-2 win in game two.
“They’re really aggressive on the forecheck,” Jackson said. “They try to take away your time and your space. They play a really well-structured game, so against them, I think last weekend we really struggled with our breakouts, and that’s why I felt they outplayed us a bit 5-on-5. We’re trying to clean that up this week, and with the Olympic rink, it will be a different game, but with them, their structure, you need to make sure that with every puck touch, you make a good play.”
With six games left, Sun Devil hockey’s mentality hasn’t changed as they push for a spot in the tournament.
“It’s kinda been do or die all season, you know,” senior forward Tyler Gratton said. “Being an independent team, that’s the challenge we face. Every weekend, each game is just as important doesn’t matter the opponent that we’re playing. So the mentality doesn’t really change at this point in the season; it’s just a little more well-known.”
The Sun Devils sit tied for 18th in the pairwise, according to the USCHO, making these remaining games important, especially with four on the road. In the pairwise, a road win and home loss are viewed by a factor of 1.2, while a road loss and home win are only viewed by a factor of 0.8. It means it benefits more to win on the road than to win at home. However, it hurts more to lose at home.
Then, when comparing teams, the pairwise looks at three things: rating percentage index (RPI), road vs. common opponents, and head-to-head record. The pairwise also considered many other factors; these are just some of them.
With only six games remaining, the Sun Devils will need to face every game with a do-or-die mentality if they want to try to put themselves in the best spot they can to maybe make the tournament.
Puck drops in Alaska just past nine o’clock Arizona time this Friday and Saturday.
