Have you considered Arizona State? 16th-year head coach Greg Powers and company have turned this season from a disaster starting 3-7-1 and early on looking like the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) was too much for them to winning their last nine in a row. During this stretch, they’ve swept the defending champions in Denver Univeristy, Minnesota Duluth, the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP), and took home the Desert Hockey Classic for the second consecutive season.
Related: Arizona State Wins Back-to-Back Desert Hockey Classic Tournament 4-0 Against Cornell University
This weekend, the Sun Devils will finally see the debut of Pittsburgh Penguins 2022 fourth-round pick, Cruz Lucius. At practice this week, Powers said he expects Lucius to play and is excited to see what he can do. It’s also a good time to talk about the Pairwise rankings, which are ever so crucial in the games against conference opponents. The Maroon & Gold play the rest of the season against conference opponents, including no off weekends.
Cruz Lucius Expected to Return Against North Dakota
Lucius, the former Wisconsin Badger, has been sidelined for the entire season with an injury and will finally make his debut this season against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The 20-year-old was the top goal scorer with the Badgers last season and notched 13 goals and 34 points in 36 games.
“His ability to think and make plays is unbelievable,” Powers said about what makes Lucius so special in his eyes. “I don’t expect Cruz to be Superman this weekend, and I don’t think anybody should expect that with that long of a layoff, but he will make an impact. Cruz at 80%, and when I say 80%, he’s 100% healthy, but 80%, from a conditioning standpoint, but him at 80% is a really high-end college hockey player. We’re really excited to get him in the lineup and get a jersey on him, and get him going.”
Lucius’ return couldn’t have come at a better time, as Dylan and Ty Jackson (the twins) won’t play this series due to injury. Powers expects those two to be back for the series in Minnesota against St. Cloud State, but in the meantime, fans will get to see Lucius in an Arizona State sweater this weekend.
How Do the PairWise Rankings Work?
Many (including myself) have questioned how the Pairwise rankings work, and to be honest, it’s not the easiest thing to understand. First off, there is a difference between the PairWise rankings and the United States College Hockey Organization (USCHO). The media vote on the USCHO, and people around the game determine who should move up and down as a collective. Think of the PairWise rankings as a math equation that puts everything together from a team’s season into a ranking; here’s a breakdown.
That sounds crazy at first, and that was my first reaction as well, especially considering my struggles with math, but the system takes into consideration several things, including strength of schedule, home and away losses, and a ton more. Here’s an example: If ASU lost at home, it would take a bigger toll on their standing in PairWise as opposed to if they lost away at Denver University. It takes into account the teams and where you lose and win.
Last season, the Sun Devils finished with a 24-8-6 record, but with most of their wins coming at home (79%) and wins against teams who aren’t as competitive of a program, it also takes that into account. As we head into the North Dakota series, ASU is ranked at 16, but if they could creep into the top 12 or even top ten, it would make things much more comfortable as they look to clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament.
North Dakota, No Easy Feat
After the Fighting Hawks come to town this weekend, not only will the Sun Devils not have an off week for the rest of the season, but each one of their games will be against NCHC opponents (conference games), which hold much more meaning to them. Before this series, the team ranked third in the NCHC with a 5-3-0 record only behind Western Michigan and, what do you know, North Dakota, making this series that much more crucial. Without the Jackson twins, it’ll be interesting to see how they do, but again, they are getting Lucius back, who will look to make an immediate impact.
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