After starting the season 1-1, the ASU men’s hockey team is in Mankato, Minnesota for its first road trip of the 2019-20 campaign to face the Minnesota State University Mavericks.
This weekend will likely serve as a more daunting threat for the Sun Devils, as the Mavericks are ranked No. 3 in the nation heading into the matchup. ASU fell out of the rankings following last weekend's split against Mercyhurst.
Minnesota State defeated the Mount Royal University Cougars 5-2 in an exhibition contest last Saturday. Friday's game against ASU will be the team's NCAA opener.
Despite the Mavericks' high ranking, the Sun Devils believe that they are prepared for the challenge.
“They’re just a really good team,” head coach Greg Powers said. “They’re one of the top teams in the country; they always are. We’re excited to go up and get some really good experience up there.”
Minnesota State finished last season with an impressive 32-8-2 record and ended the season as Western College Hockey Association champions, on its way to an NCAA tournament appearance.
The Sun Devils played the Mavericks once last season, which ended in a 2-2 tie at Gila River Arena in Glendale.
However, the Mavericks were dominant at home in 2018-19. They only lost one of their 22 home contests last season, helping establish their building as one of the toughest environments for opponents in college hockey.
“I’m pretty sure they have good fans, so early it’s going to be tough to channel the emotions and get a feel for the way they play,” sophomore defenseman Joshua Maniscalco said. “We just have to stick to our game plan and play hard, and play simple early.”
In addition, Minnesota State’s offensive firepower will be no easy task to neutralize. The team had two 40+ point scorers last season in German-born forwards Marc Michaelis and Parker Tuomie.
The Mavericks also had six other players who recorded at least 20 points; in total, their top 13 point scorers from 2018-19 are returning to the lineup this season.
Overall, the Minnesota State offense outscored its opponents 147 to 76 last year — a substantial +71 goal differential.
In goal, Minnesota State was led in large part by then-freshman Dryden McKay, who recorded 24 wins and a staggering .927 save percentage in 34 appearances in 2018-19. Four of McKay's 24 wins were shutouts.
Taking on a team that presents so many threats all over the ice, the Sun Devils know they’ll be given one of their season's toughest tests right out of the gate.
“Last year we went into Notre Dame, it was just kind of that underdog mentality where we were going to work our way up,” sophomore forward Demetrios Koumontzis said. “We can’t let (the opening series) get ahead of ourselves."
Koumontzis, who recorded a goal and two assists in the opening series against Mercyhurst, graduated from Edina High School in Edina, Minnesota, just over 70 miles from Mankato.
The Arizona-born winger is optimistic about returning to Minnesota with hopes of capturing two wins on the road.
“Hopefully the outcome will be a little better this time,” he said. “All my family and friends will be there so it’ll be a good experience but we got to go in there and get a couple wins.”
ASU knows that every moment of the game could decide how it ends, and the quest to rise above .500 starts on Friday night against the No. 3 team in the country.
“Every shift matters,” Koumontzis said. “Every time you’re on the ice, especially against a No. 3 team, if you let up one shift, they’re going to give it to you. We know what we’re going against, we know what we have to do.”
Reach the reporter at aklatsky@asu.edu and follow @averyklatsky on Twitter.
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