Arizona State hockey faces critical road series at Colorado College

30 days from now, the Sun Devils will be starting their final series of the regular season.

At this point last season, Arizona State (12-13-1, 5-8-1 NCHC) was the talk of the NCHC, threatening at a Penrose Cup win in their debut season. A year later, the Sun Devils find themselves staring up the standings in 6th place, on the wrong end of their first series sweep in conference play.

With 10 games remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on to just ensure they will make an appearance in the conference tournament. If there was ever a time for a "get right series", this weekend's matchup on the road against Colorado College is it.

The Tigers (10-11-3, 4-7-3 NCHC) come in to this weekend as a team on the ropes. The schedule has not been kind since the calendar turned to 2026 as they've played to a 2-4-0 record in the month of January, claiming an overtime win at home against North Dakota on January 9th and a win at Omaha on January 24th. This recent slide has put the Tigers in 9th place in the conference and out of the NCHC tournament field, but in striking distance just two points behind the Sun Devils.

Central to the struggles for the Tigers has been their inability to score goals. 10 of their 11 losses have seen them score 2 or fewer goals, with the lone exception being a 5-4 loss in Colorado Springs against Omaha on November 1st. Owen Beckner leads the Tigers in scoring with 16 points on the season (6 goals, 10 assists) despite missing six games with an upper body injury, while Klavs Veinbergs leads the team with 7 goals. Eight players in total have registered double digit points on the season, but a 2.67 goals per game average that ranks 40th nationally has Colorado College heavily relying on their back end to keep them in games.

Luckily for the Tigers, they play even in the goals against category. At 2.71 goals against (25th nationally), low-scoring games are a hallmark of their season. Senior goaltender Kaidan Mbereko has done everything short of do handstands on the ice, holding opponents to a 2.48 goals against average with a .912 save percentage in 23 games on the season. Due credit must also be given to the size in front of him on the blue line. Freshmen Matteo Mann and Colton Roberts bring a strong physical presence at 6'6" and 6'4" respectively, while Fisher Scott, Ryan Koering, and Seth Constance all rank among conference leaders in blocked shots. Phillippe Blais-Savoie brings an offensive edge to his play, tallying 6 goals to lead Tigers defensemen.

Beckner's injury does not represent the only key missing piece for Colorado College. The loss of captain Max Burkholder has been a major factor working against the Tigers this season. Out of the lineup since October 10th against Bentley, it was announced over the holiday break that he would likely miss the rest of his junior season. Mbereko, Blais-Savoie, and forward Drew Montgomery have all missed time, all since returning to the lineup.

As mentioned in the open, 10 games remaining on the schedule has the Devils' postseason window in a tricky position. The bottom five teams in the NCHC standings are separated by just five points, leaving little margin for error. According to PlayoffStatus.com, Arizona State still controls their destiny with a 9% chance of clinching home ice for the NCHC first round, assuming current win probability. However, a sweep at the hands of the Tigers would not only put the Sun Devils on the edge of ending the weekend in 9th place, but it would increase their chances of missing the conference tournament entirely to 18%.

This weekend's series is the third consecutive "return series" in NCHC play; the Sun Devils claimed a shootout win in a 3-3 tie against the Tigers at Mullett Arena on November 7th before falling 3-1 the next night. Anything less than 5 of the possible 6 points this weekend puts the Sun Devils postseason chances in jeopardy.

Ed Robson Arena will play host to this crucial series. Friday night's game will be a 7pm puck drop, with Saturday coming an hour earlier at 6pm. Fans in the Phoenix market can watch Friday's game on Fox 10, while fans across the country will be able to stream both Friday and Saturday on NCHC.tv (subscription required). Tyler Paley and Alex Coil will handle the call on the radio on Fox Sports 910 Phoenix, available nationwide on the iHeartRadio app.