After splitting the first six games of the 2019-20 season, ASU hockey will return home for the first time since Oct. 6 to face the No. 9 Quinnipiac Bobcats, a team they’re all too familiar with.
Quinnipiac, which is 4-1 heading into the game, ended ASU's triumphant 2018-19 season and spoiled the Sun Devils’ first NCAA Tournament appearance by defeating them in the first round back in March.
Although the Sun Devils had their most successful NCAA campaign last year, that loss left a bad taste in their mouths heading into the offseason.
“A lot,” sophomore forward Demetrios Koumontzis said when asked how much the loss stuck with him. “Coach (Greg) Powers has been talking about it a lot that this game is going to mean a lot more to everyone (because) they kicked us out of the tournament last year. It’s definitely going to be a big game for us.”
ASU, which was defeated 2-1 by Quinnipiac in the postseason, has not come out of the gate in 2019-20 as proficiently as the team had hoped.
ASU lost three of its first four games to start the year, including a sweep at the hands of current No. 2 ranked Minnesota State. Following those games, a two-game sweep at Air Force bumped ASU up to .500.
“Beginning with a loss to Mercyhurst, that set us back a little bit,” Koumontzis said. “I think everyone knows how much work it takes, and (Friday’s) game is going to get us on a good path back to where we were last year.”
The Sun Devils know how pivotal this series is for the team, especially coming into the weekend following a bye week that gave them extra time to prepare, rest and stay in shape.
But, the opportunity to play a team that sent ASU packing seven months ago could be exactly what the team needs in order to jump-start and propel it to a winning record.
“It still stings from last year in the tournament,” senior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk said. “I think you move on from last year, but when you’re playing a team like Quinnipiac that ended your season last year, it definitely brings back a lot of memories and just motivation.”
Although the tournament game from last year stung for ASU, the history between the two programs didn’t begin in March.
The feud between the Sun Devils and Bobcats began after ASU was promoted to Division I prior to the 2015-16 season. ASU has played Quinnipiac six times since but has just one win in those meetings.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry, but definitely a familiarity,” Powers said. “We know how they’re going to play; they’re really good. They’re always good, incredibly well-coached, incredibly well-structured, (and have a) really deep forward group so we going to have to absolutely be at our very best to beat them.”
Quinnipiac has thrived in the past several seasons. The Bobcats have finished in first place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference in four out of the past seven years, including last season, when they advanced to the Regional Final of the NCAA tournament.
Even though Quinnipiac has dealt with some roster turnover since 2018-19, Powers knows all too well that it's a dangerous team to play against, year in and year out.
“They lost their starting goalie (Andrew Shortridge) but they have a really good starter this year (Keith Petruzzelli), he’s a draft pick,” Powers said. “They lost arguably their three top-(defensemen) that were all high-end kids … but by no means are they weak on the back-end, they’re just a lot different.”
The opportunity ASU has this weekend speaks for itself. Not only can the team secure a winning record for the first time this year, but they can also get redemption against a team that delivered a crushing blow to the program’s most historic season.
“I think I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t on our mind,” Powers said. “We like where we’re heading, not to jinx it heading into Friday, but we’re going to put everything we have into this game … and hopefully, get a big win here.”
Reach the reporter at aklatsky@asu.edu and follow @averyklatsky on Twitter.
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