LAS VEGAS — Arizona State nearly doubled its shots between its two October games against UNLV and still left the series with one goal. The Sun Devils contested possession more effectively in the second meeting, but Liam Choquette stopped all 30 shots in a 3-0 win. A month later, they return to face an unbeaten team whose power play just scored five times against Utah.
UNLV hosts Arizona State on Tuesday and Wednesday at City National Arena, with both games scheduled for 8 p.m. PST. The Rebels are 10-0 after beating Utah 3-1 and 4-0. They won the first meeting with the Sun Devils 5-1 before Choquette’s shutout completed the sweep in Tempe.
UNLV should expect to win both games at home. It generated 91 shots in the first series, got goals from several forwards and never surrendered a lead. Arizona State needs to spend considerably less time defending, and its improvement in the second game gives it a reason to pressure the Rebels’ passing again.
Utah had success doing that Friday. The Utes closed on Deven Nagra as he tried to move the puck out, intercepted passes through the middle and outshot UNLV 14-6 in the first period. Luke Baker acknowledged during his first-intermission broadcast interview that the Rebels were forcing plays and needed to simplify. Choquette kept Utah scoreless long enough for UNLV to make the adjustment.
Ryder McIntosh helped them take a lead before that happened. Returning from illness, he followed a puck behind Utah’s net and disrupted the attempted exit. Oliver Band collected it, pulled it to his backhand and passed across the crease for Baker to score.
McIntosh is one of the forwards best placed to have a productive series against Arizona State. He scored near Hayden Manning’s crease in the October opener and can make a defender’s attempted clearance difficult. For Band, who had two goals and an assist in that game, those recovered pucks offer a chance to attack before the Sun Devils have everyone covered.
Arizona State cannot allow that pressure to build for entire shifts again. Manning made 47 saves on 52 shots in the opener. Alexander Wendt stopped 36 of 39 in the second game, when the Sun Devils did a better job contesting possession along the boards. Their defensemen need support from the forwards to get the puck out after those saves; otherwise, UNLV can keep sending it back toward the crease.
Charles Masek and Luke Backel have been particularly effective at finding room there. Masek scored twice on the power play Thursday against Utah, first getting behind the coverage to receive Shaun Rios’ pass at the back door. On his second goal, he hit the post and stayed close enough to finish the rebound. Backel scored on a rebound Friday after Garrett Fuller stopped the initial attempt.
“Our game plan is to get in front of them,” Backel said during Friday’s second-intermission broadcast interview. “They’ve got a good goalie, but he leaves a bunch of rebounds out there.”
Backel was discussing Fuller, who made 72 saves in the series. Backel also scored on the power play in the second Arizona State meeting in October.
The Sun Devils have already lost a promising stretch of this matchup that way. Trevor Kennedy’s rebound goal brought them within 2-1 in the opener, and Jake King had another opportunity soon afterward. Arizona State then took a penalty. Band scored nine seconds into the power play, restoring the two-goal lead before UNLV added two more in the third.
That penalty kill now faces a unit converting 26.1% of its chances. Mario DiMaggio and Masek accounted for UNLV’s three power-play goals Thursday; Rios and Backel added two Friday. The Rebels entered the Utah series with seven goals in 36 opportunities and left with 12 in 46.
Arizona State needs King involved at the other end. He and Caden Butler connected on rush chances during the Sun Devils’ September games against San Diego State, including a two-on-one that forced Liam Dee to deny Butler with his stick. If UNLV continues trying passes through covered lanes, those are forwards who can take advantage before the Rebels recover defensively.
King also tipped in a power-play goal in Arizona State’s 5-1 win over San Diego State. Dan Daley finished a rebound in that game, and Alek Leonelli scored from close range. Arizona State produced four second-period goals and 60 shots, showing it can sustain an attack when it gets possession and reaches the net.
Arizona State’s best chance may come on rebounds. Kennedy scored its only goal of the first UNLV series by reaching one. Utah’s lone goal last week came when Brady Schwab found a loose puck near the crease after a missed box-out. UNLV’s defensemen have to clear those follow-up chances.
Mason Kelly can help reduce the time they spend defending. He scored in the second Arizona State game and made two important contributions Friday against Utah: drawing a penalty during an extended kill and later setting up Hayden Siegel’s goal. Both came from carrying or recovering the puck below the opposing goal line.
With Easton Edwards serving a double minor and UNLV ahead 2-0, Kelly attacked Utah’s end and drew a holding call, turning part of the Utes’ power play into four-on-four hockey.
The Rebels killed all 10 Utah power plays, but six opportunities Thursday gave the Utes repeated chances to tie a game UNLV was otherwise controlling. Kelly and the other penalty killers handled that workload. Staying out of the box would allow them more shifts against an Arizona State defense that already struggled with UNLV’s depth.
Choquette stopped 46 of 47 shots against Utah, and the Rebels have allowed 14 goals through 10 games. Friday’s opening period also showed how much work poor passing can leave for their goaltender.
UNLV eventually outshot Utah 21-6 in the second period. Against Arizona State, the first improvement should come before that: forwards available to receive the breakout pass, fewer attempts through traffic and more controlled entries into the offensive end. That would give McIntosh and Band more time around the Sun Devils’ net and Choquette less work at his own.
