October 7, 2016
Tempe, AZ
The University of Utah continues its four game road trip this weekend as the team travels to Arizona to take on the 24th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils. Friday night’s game will be at 9pm MDT and Saturday’s game will be at 8pm MDT. Both games will be played at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, AZ.
All Time Series
The Utes have played three different versions of Arizona State’s hockey team. This will be the ninth and tenth games all time between Utah and this version of the Sun Devils, formerly known as ASU’s elite team. Arizona State leads the all-time series 6-2. The last meeting between these two teams was back on November 22nd, where ASU Elite won 3-2. This will be the first time Utah has played ASU’s Division I team.
About the Utes
The Utes are coming off their first weekend in Division I play, as they took on the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. the Utes suffered their first losses of the season, losing 4-1 on Friday night and losing 2-1 on Saturday. After last weekend the Utes now sit at 2-2 on the season heading into this weekend.
About the Sun Devils
The Sun Devils have yet to play a game so far, as the team makes it’s return to Division I for the first time since winning the national championship in 2014. As mentioned before, this team is taking over for the Arizona State Elite squad that played in Division II last season. The coaches around the ACHA have high regard for this team, ranking them 23rd in this week’s ACHA D1 Rankings despite not playing a game yet this season.
Players to Watch
For the Utes: Nick Fornelius continues to lead the team in points with four through four games. The leading goal scorers for Utah are Connor Meaney and Alex King, both scoring twice so far this year and scored Utah’s only goals last weekend at Jamestown. In goal, Chris Komma has played in all four games for the Utes. He currently is 2-2 with a 2.25 GAA and .925 save percentage.
For the Sun Devils: The Utes will be familiar with this squad, as 16 of the 26 Division I players come from either the ASU Elite or ASU Maroon teams from last season (10 Elite, 6 Maroon). Austin Ehrlich is the top scorer from last season, posting 56 points in 34 games in Division II last season. Behind him was Wilson Housely who had 50 points in 29 games. Both of ASU Elite’s top goalies from last season are on the D1 roster this year. Lucas Felbel was 14-2 with a 1.91 GAA and .923 save percentage and Jordan Gluck was 12-0 with a 1.68 GAA and . 948 save percentage.
Three Things to Watch
1. Entering Hostile Territory – Oceanside Ice Arena hasn’t been kind to the Utes in the recent past. In fact, the Utes have not scored a goal in Arizona State’s barn since January of 2011, a streak that spans their last three games at Arizona State. In order for the Utes to have success, they’ll need to break that streak and put some goals on the board to end their woes in Tempe.
2. Learning From the Past – Last weekend was Utah’s first taste of Division I hockey as they lost both games to Jamestown. After being outmatched in the first game, the Utes were more competitive in the second game making it a contest that went down to the wire. The Utes will have to channel what they learned last weekend if they want to get past the Sun Devils.
3. A Chance to Make a Statement – This weekend will be the first time the Utes will play a ranked opponent this season, something they will be familiar with the rest of the way (every D1 team left on Utah’s schedule is ranked). If the Utes want to make a run for nationals, a win or two this weekend over a ranked opponent could go a long way to achieving that goal.
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