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ASU Hockey: Sun Devils return home to host Alabama-Huntsville

By Josh Schaefer

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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After six consecutive road games, ASU hockey (1-5-2) returns home to Oceanside Ice Arena to host the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers on Friday and Saturday.

ASU hockey haven’t won since their season-opening contest against UMass-Amherst on October 6. Since then, Arizona State has lost four out of six. After a 1-1 tie in their last game against Colgate, the Devils are looking to get back on track against Alabama-Huntsville.

“We’re not getting down on ourselves,” said ASU head coach Greg Powers. “We know we aren’t a one-win team.”

The Chargers (1-5-0) are on a two-game losing streak after getting heavily outplayed by Cornell in consecutive games.

In that series, UAH was 0-11 on the power play, an aspect of their game that they have struggled to improve on early in the season.

Additionally, the Chargers struggled to stay out of the penalty box, especially in their 3-0 loss in game two. Kurt Gosselin, one of the Chargers’ best defensemen, retreated to the sin bin four times for a total of 16 minutes.

Gosselin also lowered his season plus-minus total to minus five, a team low.

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The Chargers struggled to take shots and generate scoring chances.

Their lone win of the season came on October 21 in an upset over No. 15 Michigan Tech, a team that ASU will battle in February.

Power play struggles have been evident for the Sun Devils as well. ASU has only scored two goals on their last 20 power play opportunities.

Additionally, the top line has been fairly quiet since the first series of the season against UMass. The top line combined for 11 points in the first week of the season, but has cooled off for a total of three points since then.

“They have to do more. They’ll be the first to admit it,” Powers said. “We need way more out of them.”

“Individually, you get a little frustrated when you’re not producing, especially when the team is lacking goals,” said team captain Dylan Hollman. “We’re getting back to not being results focused, but focused on producing.”

In order to get their season back on track against the Chargers, Arizona State must find a way to succeed on special teams. ASU’s penalty kill has been moderately successful at about 75 percent effectiveness this season, and they need to continue this trend against a struggling UAH team.

“I think we’re playing pretty disciplined hockey. Penalties aren’t the issue at all,” Powers said. “Our penalty kill over the weekend was really good.”

Arizona State was 8-of-9 on the penalty kill against Colgate.

Furthermore, this series could allow Arizona State to finally have a breakout performance on the power play. Alabama-Huntsville skaters have struggled at certain times to stay out of the penalty box, as previously stated. If ASU can take advantage of Charger mistakes, they could find themselves in a good position to earn a victory.

Next: ASU Hockey: Sun Devils end road trip with 1-1 tie versus Colgate

The Sun Devils and the Chargers will face off at 7:05 p.m. PT Friday and Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe with both games streamed on the ASU Live Stream.