UA plays seasons final games tonight at TCC

The days of the Arizona Icecats' 66-game and decade-plus win streak over ASU are long gone. In fact, the Sun Devils just took the UA's spot in the national tournament. Fortunately for the Icecats, who might be a little upset about that, guess who's coming to town this weekend?

Arizona (11-12-2), which fell from No. 13 to No. 14 in the tournament-deciding poll earlier this week, faces tonight the team that replaced it to earn the final tournament seed - the hated Sun Devils. The Icecats open the series against ASU (14-14-3) tonight at 7:30 in the Tucson Convention Center Arena, 260 S. Church St. Saturday night's game also begins at 7:30.

The UA not only has a chance to send ASU into the national tournament with a losing record, but also to stave off the Icecats' first losing record ever.

While Arizona will be missing its first national tournament ever in its 25th anniversary year, the Sun Devils will be going to Iowa State for the tourney's first game and to celebrate their 10th anniversary as an AHCA Division I program.

Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski said he expects an intense series between two of the top teams in the country, between whom there is no love lost.

"Well Arizona State, you know, haven't gone to nationals that often and we're not going to nationals for the first time in 21 years," Golembiewski said.

The UA will also seek its first sweep against a Division I team this year. Arizona has only won both games of a two-game series against DII Tennessee, 10-1 and 11-0.

"Stringing together a couple of wins this year has been tough, whether it is youth, the veterans or coaching. It's the whole mix," Golembiewski said.

The Icecats have gone 3-2-1 against their rivals this year, though they still own a commanding lead in the all-time series. Arizona opened the year beating the Sun Devils 4-2, which it followed with a 2-2 tie the next night, both at home.

In the two teams' other series at the TCC so far, the UA lost 3-0 before winning 2-1 on an overtime goal by freshman forward Dave Cwik. Cwik will miss this weekend's series with an injury.

Later in the season, the Icecats split at ASU, pounding the Sun Devils 6-3 in Oceanside Arena, their normal home, before losing

3-1 in the other game at Glendale Arena, home of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Golembiewski considered the season opener and the Oceanside win two of the best of the season.

This weekend will also be the last time seniors Andrew Fredricks and Dan Whitlock don the royal and red.

It has been a pretty interesting year for Fredricks, who is from Cleveland. Golembiewski said he is really proud of Fredricks, who played the last month with a broken thumb after finally moving back to his normal position.

"Freddy's a great kid. He's a four-year Icecat, just like Whitlock. Freddy played forward his first three years, a centerman - good hands, a pretty good shot," Golembiewski said. "We needed him to play defense the first semester. That hurt our offense tremendously, having to drop him back on defense, but he did a very, very solid job there."

Whitlock is a defenseman out of Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

"Danny Whitlock was a defenseman all four years and he doesn't know anything but hard work," Golembiewski said. "You're losing some hard workers there."