ASU hockey did something no other team in the NCHC could do this season — beat the Western Michigan Broncos in regulation.
The Sun Devils took four out of six points from the series, but the PairWise Rankings did not favor the team. The NCAA selection committee uses the PairWise Rankings to decide which teams get a bid to the NCAA tournament.
ASU (18-12-2 overall and 13-8-1 in the NCHC) came into the weekend ranked No. 15 in the PWR, while the Broncos (23-6-1; 16-3-1) ranked fifth, making the split weekend much more impressive for Sun Devil Hockey.
Following Friday's 5-3 victory, the Sun Devils and Broncos remained in place at 15th and fifth. ASU was unable to complete the sweep Saturday night, losing 4-3 in overtime. Following the game, the Sun Devils dropped one spot to 16th in the PWR, while the Broncos remained in fifth.
"I think (we) win in regulation; we're probably 12 right now," head coach Greg Powers said following the loss. "It's so minuscule right now, the RPI between 11 and us is, we're right there. We have to win games, and whether we won or lost tonight, we need to go to Omaha and win games."
Most students weren't even enrolled the last time the Sun Devils were in the NCAA tournament in 2019-20.
Prospective playoff hockey made the Sun Devils' last regular season weekend at home much more intense, as the series against Western Michigan played a large role in deciding if the team would make the NCAA playoffs.
Friday's game saw a hungry Sun Devil team match the Broncos' defense, goaltending and physicality. Powers and his squad were able to capitalize on Western Michigan's mistakes, leading to goals from graduate forward Ty Jackson to open the scoring and senior forward Ryan Kirwan moments later.
READ MORE: ASU hockey stuns No. 3 Western Michigan in must-win game
Senior goalie Luke Pavicich was the star of the show for the Sun Devils Friday night, securing 39 saves on 42 shots en route to his 12th win of the season.
"They're a high-volume team, which we were told coming into it, and when I first started my college career, that's how it was for me," Pavicich said. "I like that because it gets you in the game right away. Obviously, 45-40 shots, whatever it is, it seems like a lot, but as a goalie, you're kind of liking it, because you stay in the game, you stay dialed, you stay ready."
Tides turned on Saturday night after both teams exchanged goals for 60 minutes to start overtime 3-3. The Broncos consistently forced turnovers to spark odd-man rushes on the Sun Devil defense.
It was these small mistakes that cost the Sun Devils a regulation win and later an extra point in overtime. ASU relied on their skilled forward group to score goals, with two coming from freshman Cullen Potter.
Beyond the loss, the Sun Devils remain optimistic about the road ahead of them. Sophomore forward Kyle Smolen said the team is ready to move past Saturday's loss.
"At the end of the day, a really good hockey team came into our building," Smolen said. "We did take four out of six points. I think that's something we have to look at moving forward and take a positive, look at the negative and fix those things."
The team faces off with No. 27 Omaha for their last regular season series before the NCHC tournament. Although the Sun Devils failed to sweep Omaha in their last contest, they'll likely have to change that to stay in tournament contention.
Powers reaffirmed the team's focus on sweeping the Mavericks in their final series.
"We still have to go there and focus on what's in front of us," Powers said. "We have a lot of hockey in front of us, and Omaha is a great team. They had a bye week this week, so we're excited to go finish the regular season and we get our bye week before playoffs. I would look for our guys to really empty the tanks in a big way next week."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporters at niall.rosenberg@gmail.com and Gbarberi@asu.edu and follow @RosenbergNiall and @Giobarberio1 on X.
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Giovanni is a sophomore studying history. This is his third semester with The State Press.
Niall is a junior studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at WCSN and Blaze Radio.
