ASU Hockey: Sun Devils vs Buckeyes Series Preview

After sweeping their road trip to Massachusetts, the first series sweep in program history, the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey team began to struggle, going winless in their next four games. Following a tough series against No. 3 Denver, the Devils hit the road once more, this time with their eyes on the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Desert Hockey Classic, as to be expected, was tough for ASU. Before the tournament even began, it was announced that Sophomore Jordan Masters had been let go by the team. Masters was the team’s leading scorer in his freshman season and had made an immediate impact since coming back from suspension in 2016.

In their first game, a test against Brown, both teams scored 8 goals, with Jakob Stridsberg and Louie Rowe each netting two. The Sun Devils then were tested against a #18 St. Cloud State team that had just lost to UConn 4-3. With the Huskies being their 8th different ranked opponent, the team came in hungry, but left Prescott Valley winless, losing 4-2 to St. Cloud State.

Fast forward a week and Arizona State now faces another ranked opponent, this time in No. 3 Denver. Surprisingly, ASU jumped out to a quick lead against one of the nation’s best teams, as Wade Murphy scored a goal nine minutes in. However that was about as exciting as the series got for the Devils, as they went on to be outscored a combined 11-2 in the two games.

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Moving forward to this weekend, the brutal schedule for coach Greg Powers’ squad does not lighten up, as they face their 10th different ranked opponent in Ohio State. 15 of the 24 games this team has played so far have been against top-20 teams, meaning that as they leave Columbus, 65 percent of their games in the 2016-17 season will have been played against top-tier teams.

While Ryland Pashovitz took the loss between the bars for both games against the Denver Pioneers, it is important to note that he was impressive, saving 70 of the 78 shots that came his way in the two games. While Pashovitz looked good against Denver, Greg Powers has focused on giving his goaltenders equal time in front of the net, with all three if his netminders standing between 460 and 500 minutes this season.

Given that Robert Levin has not played since the thriller against Brown, it is likely he will see some action, along with Joey Daccord, who has only played in 3 of the team’s last 11 games. Daccord also holds the only win for the three men against a ranked opponent.

With the departure of Jordan Masters and the decreased rate of scoring for graduate transfer Robbie Baillargeon, an important factor in this weekend’s matchup against the Buckeyes will be finding someone to step up offensively for the Sun Devils.

After Baillargeon’s team-leading nine goals, there is a 3-way tie for second place, where Wade Murphy, Tyler Busch and Jakob Stridsberg each have six goals. Busch however, like Baillargeon, has began to cool off since a hot season start, he scored four of his six goals in the first four games of the season.

While Arizona State sits on a record of 7-16-1, Ohio State has had much better results in 2016 and early in 2017, as their record is 10-4-4. Ohio State has beaten teams like Denver, who crushed ASU and Rensselaer, whom the Devils split a series with. In addition, the Buckeyes split a series with Penn State, who Arizona State had massive struggles with back in November.

Having faced ranked Minnesota and Penn State for four of their last five games, an unranked and new team like Arizona State will be a breath of fresh air for an Ohio State team that went 2-3 in that tough stretch.

Ask any Buckeye fan what has helped them this season and they’ll likely give you two answers: their goaltending and Senior Nick Schilkey. Schilkey, the captain for the Buckeyes, has scored 15 goals in 18 games so far, with eight assists tacked on for a total of 23 points to lead the team. In addition, he’s only spent nine minutes in the penalty box this season, which means that he has been effective at staying on the ice.

Freshman Tanner Laczynski has also been raising eyebrows in Columbus, as he has only played in 15 of the team’s games, yet he is not far behind Schilkey in points this year, he has 22. Laczynski has been the master of assists this season, racking up 16, to go along with six goals.

While Matt Tomkins has more minutes in goal this season than either of the other two goalies on Ohio State’s roster, Christian Frey has started the last three games, winning only one of the three.

Ohio State’s penalty kill, like Arizona State’s, as been very bad this season, as they’ve allowed 20 goals while on the penalty kill this year, giving them a similar percentage to Arizona State.

All in all, this will be a huge series for both teams. Ohio State has had a good season and Arizona State is still looking to prove themselves and a victory over a top team like the Buckeyes could be big for the Sun Devils in paving the way to more D1 hockey on the West Coast.

However, when it comes down to it, ASU looks inferior to Ohio State in nearly every statistical category. Meaning that more than anything, like most games this season have been, the series in Columbus will be good experience for a young team.

The first game will be played Friday at 5:00 p.m. MST, while the game on Saturday is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. MST. The game on Saturday can be seen on ESPNU.

Next: ASU MBB: Sun Devils Outmatched Against Wildcats

Keys to the Series:

When the Sun Devils score first, they are 5-6-0. With a 7-16-1 overall record, that means they are 2-10-1 when the opponent scores first. In order to stay in the game against the Buckeyes all night long, it’s important that they get on the board early on.
ASU is 15-108 when on the power play, while their opponents are 32-128, a difference of over 11%. In order to give themselves a shot to win, they need to take advantage while on special teams, scoring on the power play and killing the penalties,