The UA Icecats struggled against injuries and talented ASU in two hard-fought losses Friday and Saturday in Tempe.
"(The Icecats) showed a tremendous amount of character," head coach Leo Golembiewski said of his team's 4-2 Friday loss and Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss.
"They showed more heart in these games than any other all season," he said.
Arizona (10-11-1) overcame deficits both nights to play even with the No. 13 Sun Devils (15-5) before falling.
Golembiewski said that for the team to give such a "gutsy effort" against a top-ranked squad with three key absences exemplified Arizona's toughness.
Senior forward and former top goal-scorer Mickey Meehan received an MRI on his injured knee Saturday, while co-captain, junior defenseman Mike Pelletier, was again sidelined with a Grade-3 concussion suffered Jan. 21.
Junior Jerald Zivic, Arizona's third line center, missed the series due to an injury sustained last week at Weber State.
Arizona and ASU fought for the first goal Friday in the Oceanside Ice Center for a period-and-a-half before the Sun Devils notched two goals in the second.
Senior defenseman Mike Smith lit the goal lamp with five minutes remaining in the second.
Just over a minute into the third, co-captain and junior defenseman D.J. Pelletier tacked on a goal to tie the game at two.
ASU scored later on a power play, one of seven consecutive Arizona trips to the penalty box in the second and third periods.
In all, Arizona was penalized 22 times, resulting in more than a period's worth of power play minutes for the Sun Devils.
With the one-goal deficit, Golembiewski pulled senior goaltender Bryan Aronchick from the net to give Arizona an extra skater, which resulted in an open-net Sun Devil score to finish out the night at 4-2.
ASU jumped on the Icecats early again Saturday night, scoring the game's first three goals.
D.J. Pelletier struck for the second time in the series with a power play goal in the second.
Junior forward Don Holtz followed 20 seconds later with a goal, cutting the Sun Devil lead to one.
ASU retaliated in the third with another goal to jump ahead 4-2 before freshman center Craig Irwin scored.
D.J. Pelletier earned his third point of the weekend, connecting with senior forward Shaun Brooks with 23 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime at four apiece.
The Sun Devils ended the UA comeback in overtime, scoring after a scramble in front of the net.
Despite the losses, Golembiewski said he was proud of the team's performance.
Another positive of the weekend came with a change in Arizona's lineups.
Golembiewski said he overhauled Arizona's lines and found combinations he likes for Arizona's final four games.
Among the switches was a shift to add a sixth defender to the Icecats' rotation, he said.
The Icecats will take the weekend's lessons and changes into Lubbock, Texas next weekend when they face Texas Tech in the final road swing of the year, before returning to the Tucson Convention Center Arena Feb. 18 to face ASU.