At the end of last season, the Sun Devils missed the NCAA tournament, partly due to their non-conference record, as the team was battling injuries. A loss to Air Force, a loss and tie to Michigan and two losses to Providence hurt their non-conference record as the Sun Devils should have been around .500 in those games.
A year later, the same story is developing as Arizona State hockey (2-4) has dropped two games to Penn State and now two to Augustana (SD) (3-1) as the Sun Devils lost 5-2 (EN). The Sun Devils have been without sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser (injury) and freshman forward Jack Beck (ineligible) in all six games thus far. Both players are expected to be some of the team’s best players.
After looking flat the previous night, head coach Greg Powers made sweeping changes to the lineup. Freshman Samuel Urban replaced senior Connor Hasley as the netminder.
Urban had a similar rate of success to Hasley the night before. Urban had 26 saves on 30 shots with an 86.7% save percentage. The duo had an 86.5% save percentage on the weekend. That will not cut it against better teams in the NCAA, let alone the Vikings.
Senior defenseman Tucker Ness replaced freshman defenseman Austin Zemlak, who was a healthy scratch in what was Ness’s season debut. The rest of the personnel remained the same, but the order was changed to move the Anthony Dowd and Justin Kipkie pair from the top pair to the third pair, and the other pairs moved up one position.
That shakeup helped the penalty kill, which killed off both of the Vikings' power plays. The penalty kill has been solid, allowing goals on 20.8% of the time this season.
Freshmen forwards Justin Cloutier and Braxton Whitehead (first NCAA game) replaced freshmen Carmelo Crandall and Sam Alfano. Both are slightly surprising scratches as the two have played in all games this season. Alfano had a goal in Friday’s game as well.
Only two sets of offensive duos remained the same from Friday. First-line senior wingers Cruz Lucius and Bennett Schimek, along with junior Kyle Smolen and senior Johnny Waldron, stayed together. Smolen moved from center to left wing, and Waldron moved from left to right wing as well.
Those changes did not affect a change on the scoreboard. Augustana blocked 14 of Arizona State’s shots as the Sun Devils only had 20 shots on goal, despite having 48 total shots. The Sun Devils often looked flat.
The power play was underwhelming, going 1-6 and allowing two shorthanded goals, including the empty-netter. Lucius had the only goal on the man advantage, as he continues to be a presence there. Arizona State has allowed three goals on the power play this season, matching its total from the entirety of last year.
Lucius had the other goal as well. He came into the weekend T4 in the NCAA in goals scored, and his two in the game puts him at six on the season. Sophomore forward Cullen Potter had two assists on the night, as he has yet to find the back of the net this season. Junior defenseman Anthony Dowd and sophomore forward Logan Morrell had an assist each as well.
Arizona State looked great in the face-off circle, winning 32 of 55 (58.1%). That unit has been excellent this season. Morrell, Whitehead and senior center Sean McGurn all won more faceoffs than they lost. Potter was the only player who lost more than he won. Potter has won half his faceoffs this season.
The Sun Devils will get Beck for their next series, which is at Miami (OH) in two weeks. He is ineligible due to the NCAA's delayed enrollment rules. Boser’s injury is undisclosed, but it sounds like he could be back soon.
Both players returning would help the Sun Devils immensely. Beck will provide a much-needed spark to the offense, which has looked flat at times throughout the season. Boser will provide help on the back end as the Sun Devil goaltenders have faced a lot of shots this season, especially in the Penn State series.