CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Matt Naylor tries to move the puck up the ice in the Icecats' 7-4 win over ASU Friday night in Tempe.

If there was any question as to who the unsung heroes are for the Arizona Icecats, look no further than its unheralded corps of defensemen.

The group of talented blueliners helped push the No. 6 Icecats past in-state rival No. 19 Arizona State this weekend, 7-4 and 4-2.

With the team's top blueline tandem, senior Bill Pardue and freshman Mike Pelletier, both playing on the heels of illnesses earlier in the week, the rest of the defensive unit stepped up for the Icecats over the weekend. Freshman Justin Guerra, sophomore Drew Williamson and juniors Keith Mitchell and Dan Whitlock kept the defensive unit in place against the physical-minded Sun Devils, while Pardue and Pelletier were still able to make their mark despite playing sick.

"Going to ASU isn't very easy, but we were able to pick up two hard wins," said UA sophomore goaltender Bryan Aronchick. "The first game was more run and gun, but in the second game we tightened up defensively."

Aronchick was solid in the net again for the Icecats, stopping 32 of 36 shots on Friday to go along with his 29 saves on Saturday.

"Having a great goaltender can be a double-edged sword sometimes," said UA head coach Leo Golembiewski. "We have a tendency to let down a little bit in our backchecking because we know that (Aronchick) is back there for us. That didn't happen this time though."

On Friday, Arizona jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on goals by sophomore Mickey Meehan, freshman Cole Dunlop, and a power-play goal by sophomore Shaun Brooks.

After ASU countered, tying the game at three goals apiece in the second, the UA power play went back to work, adding three straight power-play goals by junior Andrew Fredricks, Pardue and Pelletier, and an even-strength goal by Meehan to finish off the scoring at 7-4.

Brooks added two assists while senior Dave Loftus notched three of his own.

On Saturday, senior Matt Naylor, the team's leading scorer, picked up two goals and an assist, while Dunlop and Fredricks added the Icecats' other two goals in the 4-2 win.

"We've played five Friday games in a row, and the first game of each series is very important to get going out of the chute early on Friday so you aren't scrambling for a split on Saturday," Golembiewski said. "The kids are continuing to quietly put together a nice solid semester."

Riding a 10-game winning streak with four games to go, the Icecats will travel to Colorado State this week before hosting ASU two weeks later. The ACHA rankings that came out on Friday had the Icecats at No. 6 overall, the final rankings of the regular season. The next rankings release will come out on Feb. 11, and the top 12 teams will qualify for the ACHA National Tournament.