No. 10 Arizona State may not have officially won either game against Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA's eyes on Friday and Saturday but the team still walked away with a massive three points when it comes to the NCHC race.
The Sun Devils avoided losses of any kind in regulation, instead losing 3-2 in overtime on Friday and defeating the Bulldogs in a shootout on Saturday (recorded as a 3-3 tie). Those results inched ASU back into sole possession of second place in the conference with just four games remaining in the regular season.
Head coach Greg Powers' squad swept Minnesota Duluth earlier this season in December, so the rematches in the "Land of One Thousand Lakes" were actually a bit of a regression for the team.
Arizona State hockey enters regular season home stretch with opportunity to challenge for NCHC crown, NCAA Tournament bid
Despite making up some ground in the conference title race, ASU's lack of wins over the weekend cost it some crucial real estate in its bid to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The all-important postseason bracket that leads to the Frozen Four and the national championship game includes the six conference tournament winners plus 10 at-large bids. Those bids are determined via the NCAA's Pairwise rankings.
Per Sun Devil Source's Gabriella Chernoff, ASU entered the weekend ranked 13th in the Pairwise which would've translated to the Sun Devils qualifying as the very last team into the tournament. However, after Saturday's shootout win over Minnesota Duluth, the Sun Devils are now 15th and would find themselves as the first team outside the field of 16.
ASU remains at 15th in the PairWise after the shootout win against Minnesota Duluth (40th PW). The Sun Devils were 13th before the winless weekend.
— Gabriella Chernoff (@gabbyjchernoff) February 16, 2025
They'll face NCHC leader Western Michigan (4th PW) next weekend before capping off the regular season at Omaha (31st PW). pic.twitter.com/gzt9wQWzjy
That means the program's final four games (home vs. Western Michigan and at Omaha) will be critical to determining whether it will have to sweat things out on Selection Sunday on March 23. Of course, the Devils can always make a run at the NCHC tournament and earn one of the six auto-bids by winning the conference.
Finding at least one upset against Western Michigan will be the most important task. Avoiding being upset by Omaha is arguably just as important as that would surely end any chance of ASU qualifying for the NCAA Tournament on its own merits.