The UA Icecats look to avenge a pair of October losses to in-state rival Arizona State tonight at the Tucson Convention Center when they host the No. 7 Sun Devils at 7:30.
Icecat head coach Leo Golembiewski said his team has matured significantly since the 8-1 and 5-2 season-opening losses to ASU.
"You should always be better your 11th game than you were your first two," he said.
UA (4-5-1) has bounced back from its slow start with a road sweep of St. Louis Nov. 13 and 14 and a come-from-behind overtime win against Texas Tech Nov. 19.
Golembiewski said Arizona's freshmen have played key roles in the team's resurgence.
Freshman center Scott Marshall, said he and the rest of the Icecats can't wait to get back on the ice after the Thanksgiving layoff.
"We've had a great week in practice," he said.
Marshall suffered a knee injury in the first ASU series that sidelined him until Nov. 13, but has since returned to score a goal and help spark the Icecat offense.
Although Arizona welcomes the return of Marshall, it will be without the service of junior defenseman D.J. Pelletier, who will be out with a broken hand.
Golembiewski said he expects Pelletier to be back on the ice for the first game of the spring semester, Jan. 7 against St. Louis.
Until then, Arizona will rely on his brother, Mike Pelletier, senior Keith Mitchell and freshmen Doug Wilson and Max Sliwinski to hold the blue line against a potent Sun Devil offense.
ASU has lit the goal lamp 66 times in just 11 games, so the Arizona offense must also be up to the challenge of scoring a bunch of goals with ASU.
"We've had some trouble putting the puck in the net," Golembiewski said, "we've had opportunities to score, but didn't. The ultimate execution of hockey is scoring, and that's something we'll have to do this weekend."
Increasing its goal-per-game average will be no easy task for UA this weekend. Starting Sun Devil goalie David Cook allowed just three Icecat goals in the last series, and a total of 22 for the year.
"ASU is a strong goaltending team," Golembiewski said. "They're also a quick, solid team. We're going to have to match that."
The Sun Devils come into this weekend's games after just its second loss in 2-3 contest with Weber State Nov. 20.
Arizona resumes the series with ASU tomorrow at the TCC at 7 p.m.