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ASU women's hockey gears up for its trip to the WWCHL Showcase

The Sun Devils will play four games in three days this weekend

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The team celebrates a goal in the Sun Devils' 3-2 loss to GCU in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.


The ASU women's hockey team is gearing up for its first road trip away from the Grand Canyon state this weekend when they play four games over the span of 72 hours in Boulder, Colo. 

The Sun Devils will play one game on Friday, two games on Saturday and one on Sunday before returning back home to Tempe.

"I am excited," ASU head coach Lindsey Ellis said. "We come in (to the trip) with the mindset that we can do anything ... They are just ready to play, and hopefully they prove some people wrong."

This weekend's tournament will be a Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League Showcase and all of the teams from around the conference will take part in the festivities.

ASU went 0-4 in last year's tournament during a grueling weekend of hockey with a small roster. However, a lot has changed from last year to this year, including the team's roster size which will surely pay off this weekend.

"To be able to have four separate lines, it's a crazy thought coming from 8 to 10 skaters last year," Ellis said. "It's really exciting. We can switch things up during a game if things aren't working, and we have never had that option before."


In addition to overall depth, the Sun Devils will have freshmen goalies Macy Eide and Landry Phelps to help shoulder some of the workload of the goaltenders along with junior netminder Jordan Nash-Boulden, who was the lone goaltender in last year's tournament. 

All three puck-stoppers are expected to see action this weekend, and both Eide and Phelps will be making their college debuts.

"I hope they can shake off the nerves in warm-ups quickly; those teams are going to come at them fast," Ellis said. "I hope they communicate well with their defensemen and centers, and just perform well in their first collegiate game. It's exciting."

ASU will take on University of Denver in game one of the Showcase, U.S. Air Force Academy on Saturday night and Midland University twice, once on Saturday and once on Sunday morning.

Overall, the history between the opponents is interesting. In the program's three-year existence, ASU has never lost to Denver and is 4-0 against the Pioneers.

Against Midland, the Sun Devils have a 0-6 all-time record. Nonetheless, the team will get two cracks at the Warriors this weekend after four matchups last season that left both teams with some bruises in some physical affairs.

"They are aggressive," ASU junior defenseman Molly Potter said. "Making sure that we are playing smart ... and keeping our feet moving and being faster than them is definitely going to help out."

Aside from Midland and Denver, the Sun Devils' matchup with Air Force is against a Falcons team that is not an American Collegiate Hockey Association opponent. Air Force's program was established just earlier this year and the team competes in the Women's Association of Colorado Hockey.

The road trip for ASU will be the first voyage of the season that includes airfare and extended travel. With 12 freshmen players departing on their first college road trip, the weekend is looking to be one that not only garners some wins, but some extra team chemistry as well.

"I think it will be fun to fly with everybody. I have never flown with a team before with all of us all together," freshman forward Katharine Jones said. "All the extra stuff, all the team bonding stuff that we can do will be fun. I'll get to know them better."

It's been two weeks since ASU took the ice in game action, so now that the hiatus is officially over the Sun Devils will now get set for more than their fair share of hockey games beginning with Denver on Friday night.

"I think it's going to be fun and it's going to show how much we have improved over the last few weeks," Jones said. "I am optimistic about it."


Reach the reporter at atbell1@asu.edu or follow @AndrewBell7 on Twitter.

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