Arizona State hits the road for final series before holiday break

The last time Arizona State faced off against Minnesota-Duluth came this past March in Game 2 of the NCHC quarterfinal series at Mullett Arena. The Sun Devils fell into a 3-0 deficit in the 1st period, clawed back to tie the game in the 2nd, then traded goals for the second half of the game before Ryan Kirwan's overtime winner eliminated the No. 7 seeded Bulldogs, sending the Sun Devils to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul.

As we approach the midway mark of the 2025-26 season, this version of the Bulldogs could not be more opposite to who the Sun Devils faced six times last season. Scott Sandelin has brought the Bulldogs back to national relevance, leading Minnesota-Duluth to a No. 5 ranking in the latest USCHO poll, and a No. 4 ranking in this week's NPI, which will be used to determine the NCAA tournament in March.

Front and center to the success for the Bulldogs has been the elite top line of brothers Max and Zam Plante, and Jayson Shaugabay. With a combined 26 goals, 46 assists, and 72 points, this line has accounted for over 45% of the team's scoring to this point of the season. However, that is where the bulk of the production stops. Defenseman Ty Hanson (6 G-12 A-18 P) and forward Callum Arnott (5 G-7 A-12 P) bring solid production, but no other player has reached the 10 point plateau. 11 players on the roster with a minimum of 10 games played have recorded 5 or fewer points, pointing to serious depth concerns on the bottom-six forwards.

The play of goaltender Adam Gajan has seen a complete 180-degree turn from his freshman campaign. The Bulldogs faced the challenge of inconsistent performance from any of their three goaltenders, seeing Gajan split the net with Klayton Knapp (transferred to Lindenwood) and Zach Sandy (transferred to North Dakota). With the vote of confidence as the number one goaltender, Gajan has revitalized his collegiate career, starting every game this season for the Bulldogs and only being relieved by backup Ethan Dahlmeir once in a 5-1 defeat at North Dakota on November 1st. Even with that 5 goals against performance, Gajan is a formidable netminder, ranking 2nd in the NCHC with a 1.80 goals against average and 4th with a .925 save percentage.

"They can't win if they can't score" seems to be the motto of the Bulldogs. The blueliners in front of Gajan play shutdown hockey with the best of them and are a huge reason why opponents have scored two or fewer goals in 13 of 18 games this season. Ty Hanson's defensive mate Adam Kleber brings a strong physical level of play to the ice, and ranks in the top-30 in the NCHC in blocked shots (21), along with the aforementioned Hanson (21), Aaron Pionk (18), and conference leader Joey Pierce (32). Riley Bodnarchuk rounds out the defensive corps, bringing an imposing 6'4", 220 lb. frame to the ice.

On special teams, the Bulldogs have excelled on both ends of the man advantage. They lead the NCHC in both metrics, with their 31.1% power play success rate ranking 2nd in the nation behind only Notre Dame, and a 4th ranked penalty kill of 89.8%. A hallmark of Sandelin coached teams, these Bulldogs are built to make a deep run this season and surprise many after their 7th place finish in the NCHC last season.

The Sun Devils are no stranger to highly talented opponents, with the Bulldogs being the 4th top-10 opponent that they have faced so far. A 2-4-0 record against those opponents has not been kind, but last weekend's sweep of Ohio State could be a turning of the tide. Cullen Potter was named NCHC Forward of the Week on December 2nd for his play against the Buckeyes, and brings a seven game point streak into the weekend (4 G-5 A). Cruz Lucius comes in with a three game point streak of his own (1 G-3 A), and Bennett Schimek is within striking distance of 100 career points, entering this weekend with 40 goals and 56 assists.

Don't miss any of the action for the Sun Devils as they take on the Bulldogs from AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, MN. Friday's game will start at 6pm and Saturday at 4pm, both games streaming nationally on NCHC.tv (subscription required). Tyler Paley and Alex Coil will have the call on the radio as always for Fox Sports 910 Phoenix.