Preview by Liesl Babicka, Sun Devil Athletics Intern
TEMPE, Ariz. -- With a new single-season program record 22 wins and a seven-game winning streak in their back pocket, the No. 9 Sun Devils wrap up the 2019-20 regular season in Madison against college hockey blue-blood Wisconsin and their 12 NHL draft picks.
The two-game series is ASU's (22-9-3) last opportunity to directly affect their standings in the all-important Pairwise rankings, which directly determines teams that make the NCAA Tournament.
"This is a big series to end our regular season on a high note against a blue-blood program loaded with high-end talent," said head coach Greg Powers. "We're proud of our body of work to this point, but no where near content."
Sun Devil Rewind
This past weekend, the Sun Devils scored 10 goals in their sweep of Alaska Anchorage to put them at 22 wins for the season, surpassing last season's win total with two games in hand.
Friday night, senior captain Brinson Paschinuk scored his 100th point, the first in program history to reach 100 points. The following night, Paschinuk scored his first-collegiate hat trick and first four-point game, ranking him second among NCAA defensemen in points with 34 trailing only David Farrance of BU with 37.
Between Pasichnuk, James Sanchez (36), Johnny Walker (34) and Josh Maniscalco (30), the Sun Devils boast four 30-point players for the first time in program history -- two more than they had a season ago -- and is the only team in NCAA Division I to have four.
Netminder Evan DeBrouwerhas allowed just four goals over his last four games (1.0 GAA), posting a .967 save pct. and two shutouts during that stretch. The Sun Devils have held opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of their last eight games dating back to Jan. 24 against Clarkson.
Breaking Down the Badgers
Coming off a weekend split with No. 9 Penn State, the Badgers head into the weekend 11-18-1 on the season with notable wins against Clarkson, Ohio State and Penn State earlier in the season.
The Badgers boast 12 NHL draft picks on their roster, including freshman forward Cole Caufield who leads the squad with 32 points and 18 goals. Juniors Wyatt Kalynuk and Linus Weissbach are both tied with 17 assists apiece, while 2019 fifth-overall pick Alex Turcotte remains an offensive threat for the Badgers.
In net for Wisconsin, Daniel Lebedeff has been the regular starter this season with a .894 save percentage, 3.48 goals against average and nine wins.
The last time the Sun Devils faced Wisconsin was back in 2015, when the Badgers swept ASU in Madison. Puck drops at 6:00 p.m. MST both Friday and Saturday night with the games streamed on BTN+.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- With a new single-season program record 22 wins and a seven-game winning streak in their back pocket, the No. 9 Sun Devils wrap up the 2019-20 regular season in Madison against college hockey blue-blood Wisconsin and their 12 NHL draft picks.
The two-game series is ASU's (22-9-3) last opportunity to directly affect their standings in the all-important Pairwise rankings, which directly determines teams that make the NCAA Tournament.
"This is a big series to end our regular season on a high note against a blue-blood program loaded with high-end talent," said head coach Greg Powers. "We're proud of our body of work to this point, but no where near content."
Sun Devil Rewind
This past weekend, the Sun Devils scored 10 goals in their sweep of Alaska Anchorage to put them at 22 wins for the season, surpassing last season's win total with two games in hand.
Friday night, senior captain Brinson Paschinuk scored his 100th point, the first in program history to reach 100 points. The following night, Paschinuk scored his first-collegiate hat trick and first four-point game, ranking him second among NCAA defensemen in points with 34 trailing only David Farrance of BU with 37.
Between Pasichnuk, James Sanchez (36), Johnny Walker (34) and Josh Maniscalco (30), the Sun Devils boast four 30-point players for the first time in program history -- two more than they had a season ago -- and is the only team in NCAA Division I to have four.
Netminder Evan DeBrouwerhas allowed just four goals over his last four games (1.0 GAA), posting a .967 save pct. and two shutouts during that stretch. The Sun Devils have held opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of their last eight games dating back to Jan. 24 against Clarkson.
Breaking Down the Badgers
Coming off a weekend split with No. 9 Penn State, the Badgers head into the weekend 11-18-1 on the season with notable wins against Clarkson, Ohio State and Penn State earlier in the season.
The Badgers boast 12 NHL draft picks on their roster, including freshman forward Cole Caufield who leads the squad with 32 points and 18 goals. Juniors Wyatt Kalynuk and Linus Weissbach are both tied with 17 assists apiece, while 2019 fifth-overall pick Alex Turcotte remains an offensive threat for the Badgers.
In net for Wisconsin, Daniel Lebedeff has been the regular starter this season with a .894 save percentage, 3.48 goals against average and nine wins.
The last time the Sun Devils faced Wisconsin was back in 2015, when the Badgers swept ASU in Madison. Puck drops at 6:00 p.m. MST both Friday and Saturday night with the games streamed on BTN+.