Connor Mailey jukes UA opposition. ASU beat UA 3-0 on Oct 11, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)For the first time in the 2014-15 season, ASU (11-1) is not No. 1.
The No. 2 Sun Devils officially fell from the top spot Friday with the release of the ACHA national rankings, succumbing to the No. 1 Central Oklahoma Bronchos (who gave the Sun Devils their only loss this season).
ASU coach Greg Powers, however, is not getting too preoccupied with the team's drop.
"We don't care what we are ranked until the final ranking of the season comes out," he said.
ASU has had its mind on other things than its spot in the national rankings as of late, having gone through a tough stretch in the last three weeks. The Sun Devils have played four ranked opponents (No. 17 UA, No. 1 Central Oklahoma, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 10 Liberty) in a row, having to grind out each game and struggling to find a flow.
Despite the impressive record, many critics around the ACHA have been critical of ASU's team, calling it vulnerable and not as dominant as last year's championship squad. Powers, however, is not too concerned.
"We are 11-1, outscoring opponents 67-25 in 12 games and feel the loss was just a weird game," Powers said. "I think we are playing at about 50 percent capacity right now, so if we are 11-1 against top competition, playing half as well as I expect to be, come nationals, I like our chances."
Powers elected to give his players some time off this weekend to get them ready for the rest of the season.
"We focused on letting them completely recharge their batteries and come in fresh this week, that is the most important thing right now," he said.
One of the major bright spots for ASU of late has been the play of speedy sophomore forward Sean Murphy, who scored again last Thursday against Liberty to put him in a tie for first on the team in points with 18 (six goals, 12 assists). The recent success has not come as a surprise to Powers.
"Sean (Murphy) is just buying in and knows he is depended on. ... He's really responding to that role," he said.
While Powers does not feel that his team has put together a full 60 minutes of quality hockey on the ice, he doesn't think ASU is too far off.
"We're getting closer for sure, but again the fact we aren't even close to peaking and 11-1 is a good sign in my eyes," he said. "We're finding ways to win, and I believe we will start really clicking in these next 2-3 weeks."
ASU opens its weekend series against Colorado (6-2) on Thursday night to continue its two-week home stand. The Buffs are led offensively through the play of forward Jake Bauer, who leads the team with nine points (eight goals, one assist).
Colorado also has one of the ACHA's best goaltenders in Alex Palumbo, whom Powers called "elite" and "always a challenge." Palumbo is allowing 2.00 goals per game this season and has a .929 save percentage to go with his two shutouts.
Also coming to Tempe is No. 25 Colorado State (7-3), which is ranked for the first time this season. The Rams are led offensively by forward Connor Tamai, who has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) this season.
In net for Colorado State is Alex Steidler, who has yielded a 3.21 GAA and has a save percentage of .863. Despite his 7-3 record, he has yet to pick up a shutout in the 2014-15 season.
ASU opens up its three-game set this weekend against Colorado Thursday at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. Puck drop is expected to be at 8 p.m.
Injury report:
- ASU is expected to have sophomore defender Drew Newmeyer back this week from injury. He sat out of last week's 6-4 win over Liberty.
- Sophomore forwards Patrick Yudez and Ryan Ostertag are both out for this weekend's games. Neither have played in over a month, as Yudez is dealing with an ankle injury, and Ostertag has been out with an undisclosed injury.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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