No. 13 ASU hockey owns first place in NCHC with weekend sweep over St. Cloud State

No. 13 Arizona State hockey is one of the hottest teams in the country right now and their recent form indicates they're not ready to cool down anytime soon. The Sun Devils swept a weekend series with St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday, opening up an offensive explosion on one of the most prestigious programs in the sport.

ASU took down the Huskies 6-3 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday, marking 10 victories in the team's last 11 games played since Nov. 22. After a less-than-ideal start to the season, the Sun Devils have shot up through the national rankings and now sit alone on top of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings.

ASU hockey sweeps St. Cloud State on the back of offensive explosion

One does not simply walk into Minnesota and expect to defeat the Huskies. However, the Sun Devils did just that. Melting the ice with their fiery pitchforks, they fired off 11 goals in a successful siege against one of the most storied programs in college hockey.

That includes three unanswered goals scored during an all-you-can-eat five-minute power play in the third period Saturday that allowed ASU to bury the Huskies despite a late comeback bid.

ASU has outscored opponents 76-55 this year and despite a meager .659 win percentage, the team's 13-8-1 record has them squarely in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth with 12 games remaining this season.

The Sun Devils are challenging for a conference title in just year one of its membership in the NCHC, a trend other ASU sports seem to be following this year. Football and volleyball won conference titles as first time members of the Big 12 and now hockey could make it a treble.

There's still a lot of hockey left to be played but the Sun Devils have proven they can hang with the best and that could result in a historic first-ever conference championship for the program.