ASU Hockey: Colorado College Weekend Preview

No. 15 Arizona State (12-6) is back at home this weekend following six straight games on the road. The Devils will host Colorado College (7-7-2) back in Tempe.

The Tigers are currently in last place in an NCHC Conference that boasts six ranked teams in the USCHO top-20.

Despite a tough go of things in conference play, the team has a very balanced scoring attack, and they have won two of their last three games.

Colorado College also nearly upset No. 1 St. Cloud State in early November. Last weekend, they split two games at home against Vermont.

What time/Where to watch

Both games will drop the puck at Oceanside Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m. local time. The matchups can be viewed on the Pac-12 Plus live stream.

Players to Watch

Colorado College displays a roster that has a very even stat sheet. The Tigers have 10 different players with seven points or more, and they are led by junior forward Nick Halloran, who leads the team in scoring with 12 points.

Additionally, four other players have recorded double-digit point totals, and seniors Mason Bergh, Trevor Gooch and Trey Bradley can all pose problems offensively. Gooch and Bergh both have 10 points on the season, and Bradley has 11.

Between the Pipes

In goal for Colorado College, junior goaltender Alex Leclerc has shouldered nearly all of the work load for the Tigers. Leclerc has played in 15 games, and he is 7-6-2 while holding a .913 save percentage, and a 2.48 goals against average.

Series History

In the only two meetings between Colorado College and ASU, the Sun Devils lost 4-0 before coming back the following night to pick up a 4-4 tie. The series occurred last season, and in the second game, Gvido Jansons, Anthony Croston, Tyler Busch and Brett Gruber all lit the lamp for the Sun Devils.

What the Coaches had to say about the opponent

Coach Powers: “They got three really good lines. They are a good team. They got a great goalie and are incredibly well-coached. Mike (Haviland) has done an awesome job over there. They are definitely a program on the rise. We saw them last year and they were really good, so we are going to have to be at our very best to have a chance to pick up a win.”

Other notes

Earlier this week, ASU and its equipment staff released its alternate black Adidas Adizero uniforms. The uniforms will be used in the Desert Hockey Classic at Gila River Arena in a tournament that features No. 19 Clarkson, No. 3 Minnesota State, and last year’s defending national champion and current No. 4 team in the country, Minnesota Duluth.

Along with the sweaters, ASU added some new twigs as they introduced its gold CCM JetSpeed hockey sticks. The new sticks were being used by a couple of players and coaches in practice earlier this week. They will also be expected to debut in the coming weeks.