#12 Hockey Eyes Road Dominance in High-Stakes Battle at Miami

OXFORD, Ohio – The No. 12 Arizona State hockey team (14-9-1, 9-5-0 NCHC) returns to the road with aim to extend its newfound program record for most consecutive away wins in program history at NCHC foe, Miami (3-19-2, 0-14-0 NCHC) this weekend, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The two game series at Goggin Ice Center streams on NCHC.tv and over the airwaves with Fox Sports 910. The games will also appear on RESN with a tape delay. 

ASU is currently on a four-game winning streak on the road with back-to-back sweeps of then-No. 1 Denver and then-No. 15 St. Cloud State in enemy territory. 

The Sun Devils are in the midst of a heated three-team chase for the top spot in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings. ASU ranks third in the conference heading into this weekend’s competition behind Western Michigan and Omaha – two teams the Sun Devils will face in the back half of February. 

To leave Oxford with six conference points is crucial to protecting ASU’s finish in the top four of the NCHC. Teams that finish in the top four of the conference become the hosts of the first round of NCHC playoffs and gain the coveted home ice advantage en route to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship. 

PUT THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS

ASU has tallied a power play goal in every game since the start of the New Year for eight games straight. The streak includes 12 goals with a single game high of four PPG at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State on Jan. 18. The goals were tallied by Lukas Sillinger, Noah Beck, Ty Jackson, and Ryan Kirwan. ASU had success on the power play last weekend against the Tigers penalty kill which ranked ninth in the NCAA with a 85.9 percent success rate going into the weekend. ASU’s power play finally broke into the top five and is currently tied fourth in the NCAA with a 28 percent success rate. On the flip side, ASU’s penalty kill is humming at an 83.3 percent success rate which ranks 17th in the NCAA. ASU has tallied 34 penalty kills at Mullett Arena this season. 

ASU NOTABLES

• After tallying five points against the Tigers last weekend, Ryan Kirwan stole the outright spot as the team’s leading point scorer with 26 through 24 games. He boasts 16 goals and 10 assists for a 1.08 points per game average. He leads the NCHC in goals scored and ranks third in points in the conference. 
• The Sun Devil goal-scoring…