ASU hockey made it to the NCAA tournament for the first and only time in the 2018-2019 season.
Although the Sun Devils did not get far, being there was a huge accomplishment for desert hockey. ASU was the first independent program since Alaska Anchorage in 1992 to make the tournament.
This year, the Sun Devils have a chance to make it again.
As the Sun Devils newly compete in conference play with the NCHC, two avenues exist to make it to the NCAA tournament.
To guarantee a tournament spot, the team must win the NCHC championship. The Sun Devils placed second in the NCHC and will face seventh-seed Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals.
When asked about the team's history against the Bulldogs, head coach Greg Powers said the weekend will be difficult.
"Anybody can beat anybody (in the NCHC)," Powers said during a press conference March 11. "All four games were tight, one regulation win between the four. So we know they're good. We know they're going to be coming and playing for their season, just like we are, so expect a good series."
If the Sun Devils can steamroll past the Bulldogs, they will likely have to face No. 5 Western Michigan or No. 9 Denver on their way to a championship.
Even though the Sun Devils have lost to both teams and are ranked lower than both in the PairWise Rankings, playoffs are a different beast. Graduate defenseman Noah Beck said anything can happen in the playoffs, and it's a new game.
"It's different hockey," Beck said during a press conference March 11. "You've got to give it your all every shift, and they're going to come out just as hard as us, but we've got to do everything we can each shift to win the hockey game."
Although the odds of winning the tournament are uncertain, the Sun Devils are in a good position, given their standing in the NCHC. They were the first NCHC team to beat Western Michigan in regulation this season, giving the Sun Devils a step up over the rest of the conference.
The other way ASU could make the NCAA tournament is through PairWise Rankings. However, this seems unlikely because of their No. 16 ranking, leaving the decision entirely to the discretion of the NCAA's selection.
The NCAA uses several ranking systems, the most important one being the PairWise Rankings, which mimics the methods the selection committee uses to determine who makes the NCAA tournament.
16 teams participate in the NCAA tournament. Even though ASU sits at No. 16 in the PairWise Rankings, the bracket must leave spots for all six conference champions to compete.
Some of these conferences have few recognizable teams with low-ranking champions. For example, the highest PairWise Ranking team in the Atlantic Hockey Association is No. 21 Sacred Heart.
Even though this team is ranked below the Sun Devils in the PairWise Rankings, they'll make the tournament if they win the AHA championship.
The PairWise Rankings also use RPI (rating percentage index) to rank teams, meaning the higher the RPI, the better the team. Most teams near the top rankings are one to two RPI apart.
No. 11-16 teams are all within two RPI of each other. No. 2 Michigan State and No. 4 Maine are farther apart in RPI than No. 11 Massachusetts and No. 16 ASU.
Just a few more wins during the season might have given the Sun Devils a better look at an NCAA selection. With a selection not in their favor, the Sun Devils must fight to find their place and win the NCHC Frozen Faceoff to send themselves to the NCAA tournament.
Teams like Denver and Western Michigan, who'll most likely make the NCAA tournament because of their PairWise Rankings, are fighting for the NCHC championship title; ASU has everything to win.
For now, the Sun Devils' focus is the series against Minnesota Duluth. Junior forward Bennett Schimek said the team needs to stay consistent from start to finish.
"We've definitely left some points on the table throughout the regular season against them," Schimek said during a press conference March 11. "That being said, in a lot of the games, if we look back, it's just little lapses throughout the game. We just didn't play a complete sixty, and that's when they took advantage of us, and we've got to make sure that doesn't happen this weekend."
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at Gbarberi@asu.edu and follow @Giobarberio1 on X.
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Giovanni is a sophomore studying history. This is his third semester with The State Press.
