Forward Jared Morris fights for control of the puck against West Chester University on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. ASU beat West Chester 9-0. (Photo by Ben Moffat)Road games against tough competition define great teams.
After his team went 14-0 away from Oceanside Ice Arena during the national championship campaign in the 2013-14, ASU coach Greg Powers is unfazed by the prospect of another road test.
"We have historically been a very good road team," he said. "As a coach, you can take advantage of all the time spent together on the road by holding line meetings and individual meetings a lot over the course of the trip with a lot of film mixed in. Getting the guys away together to bond is also a huge plus."
No. 6 Minot State, however, is not a team to take lightly. The last time these two sides met it was ASU who came out victorious, knocking off the then-defending national champions 4-0 in the national tournament as the Sun Devils eventually raised the Murdoch Cup.
The Beavers return points leader Jeremy Johnson, who put together 52 points (30 goals, 22 assists) in 2013-14 and has four points (three goals, one assist) through Minot State's opening two games. Johnson, along with Brett McNevin and Cote Dickerson, form a formidable first line of attack for the Beavers.
Senior captain Brad Olynyk leads a blue line that, while inexperienced together, has a variety of offensive-minded options. Along with Olynyk (two assists), senior Mitch Peeke (two assists) and freshman Austin Yano (two assists) are all defensemen who can make an impact on the offensive end.
In net for the Beavers is senior Riley Hengen, who allowed four goals (.960 save percentage) while scoring one of his own in Minot State's 8-4 win over Briercrest College in his only start this season. Behind him is freshman Connor Beauchamp, who picked up the 4-1 win in his only career start.
Powers was impressed with the overall skill and size of Minot State but thinks ASU's speed will be the difference in this weekend's games.
"Minot is a very talented team that is over-all just tough to play against," he said. "Generally, they are big and strong and love to play the body. I think if we can match their physicality in that regard, our team speed could really be used to our advantage."
Despite impressive performances in the first two weeks of play (including setting a program record against West Chester), there is still plenty of work to be done in Powers' eyes.
"We will continue to correct what we need to get better at because we will have to be much better than we have shown to be able to step into Minot and come away with two wins," he said. "Minot is probably the toughest barn in the ACHA to play in."
In shutting out the West Chester Golden Rams over two games last weekend, ASU saw much-improved play along the blue line and particularly from captain Brett Blomgren.
"(Blomgren) was night and day last weekend from the Niagara series," Powers said. "(Blomgren) is a great captain and had the guys ready last week to play. I think with each day that passes he is settling in to his role as our leader very well."
A bright side of last weekend's blowouts was that it gave Powers an opportunity to tinker with lineups, with lesser-known players such as freshman forwards Mak Barden (two goals) and Jared Morris (one goal) making an impact.
"(Changing lineups is) a constant process that really never gets completed," Powers said. "I am a huge believer in great team chemistry that way no matter who I stick with who, they are comfortable with it. I may never be done tinkering."
Injury Report
Powers said that he sat senior forward Liam Norris for Saturday's 9-0 win over West Chester as a precautionary measure, saying that he didn't want to risk "the best center in the league" getting injured on a dumb hit. Norris is expected to return to the ASU lineup Friday.
Sophomore forward Ryan Ostertag is out of the lineup for the second-straight week, according to Powers. Ostertag scored seven points (four goals, three assists) in ASU's opening series against Niagara, including a hat trick in the season opener.
ASU takes on No. 6 Minot State at Maysa Arena in Minot, North Dakota, on Friday, Oct. 3. The game will be online streamed via FASTHockey.com.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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