No. 11 Arizona State was on the verge of its second consecutive weekend split, leading No. 19 Colorado College 4-1 in the third period before collapsing in a matter of minutes.
The Sun Devils seemed to be firing on all cylinders, dominating the ice and peppering the opposing goaltender with pucks in the red hot form fans had been accustomed to lately.
CHUCKY DOES IT AGAIN 😤 pic.twitter.com/GTTR1HTV5j
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 26, 2025
But in the course of 10 minutes following ASU's fourth tally of the night, Colorado College exploded for four of its own unanswered scores and then held on for the 5-4 upset.
It was an uncharacteristic loss for the Devils, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped. It was also the team's second stumble in its last five games, the most its had in that span since losing three consecutive contests in early November. Two of those losses were from a sweep, ironically by then-No. 8 ranked Colorado College.
ASU cedes conference lead with late loss to Colorado College
Had the Devils held on for a win over Colorado College on Saturday, they would've gone one point ahead of No. 3 Western Michigan in the NCHC standings. Instead, they remain two points behind (30-28) with the Broncos still having two games in hand.
ASU is making its debut as a member of a major conference after spending every year prior since 2015-16 as an NCAA Division I independent program. If the Devils were to win the NCHC in year one, it would be a legendary run and complete a treble begun by the ASU volleyball and football teams in 2024.
However, there's still a lot of hockey left to be played this season, including two massive tilts against Western Michigan at home in Tempe coming up Feb. 21 and 22. The Devils will need to have short memories and tighten things up down the stretch if they want to keep their conference title and potential NCAA tournament hopes alive.