HOUGHTON, Mich. – The rematch of the season is set as the Arizona State men's ice hockey team travels to Michigan Tech for round 2 after defeating the Huskies to become the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational champions in January.
ASU (7-18-5) is coming off their third bye week after a trip to Yale two weeks ago. In New Haven, the Sun Devils suffered their first overtime loss since their inaugural NCAA game against Alaska-Anchorage and look to bounce back against a familiar foe.
"This will be an excellent trip for us as we get to play in one of the best venues in all of college hockey against a historic program like Michigan Tech," said head coach Greg Powers. "We know we'll get Michigan Tech's very best after seeing them in Las Vegas last month so we'll have to be at the very top of our game to go and have success against a very good hockey team."
The Sun Devils last met Michigan Tech (15-13-5) at T-Mobile Arena, the home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, to kick off the 2018 half of the season. ASU eased past Northern Michigan, 7-3, to face-off against MTU in the championship berth.
In the fight for the championship, the Sun Devils controlled the first and second frames, with two goals from leading point scorer Brinson Pasichnuk and another from freshman Johnny Walker, to lead 3-0 going into the third period.
Sophomore netminder Joey Daccord finished the night with 36 saves on 38 shots after the Huskies capitalized on a power play for their first goal and a scramble in the crease to shove their second goal past Daccord.
The Devils left Sin City with one of the biggest jackpots in program history: their first tournament win after knocking off two teams who were receiving votes in the USCHO poll.
In the eight games since Las Vegas, Pasichnuk – who was dubbed the tournament MVP – has collected one goal and seven assists for a point-per-game average and 22 total points so far this season.
Daccord continues to be the anchor of the team with 52 saves in an overtime loss at Yale, just one save shy of the program record (53) which he set against Quinnipiac last year. Through 28 games, Daccord ranks first in NCAA Division I in both saves (936) and shots faced (1030).
With his 10th goal of the season, ASU's leading goal scorer, Walker, broke the program's record for goals scored by a freshman in a season, which was originally set by sophomore Tyler Busch (9) last year. Walker ranks 5th in the country among freshman goal scorers and 18th overall in the NCAA for shots on goal with 106 sent on net through 28 games.
Fellow freshman Max Balinson and forward Steenn Pasichnuk achieved multi-point games over the weekend at Yale. Balinson tallied his third goal of the season and an assist, while Steenn's two assists became his first collegiate multi-point game.
The Huskies split the last eight games since meeting in Las Vegas with four losses and four wins, including recent lopsided splits against Bemidji State -- who is receiving votes in the USCHO poll -- and No. 14 Bowling Green.
MTU is led by a strong upperclassmen squad, and are paced by junior top point scorer Jake Lucchini with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 33 games played.
Lucchini's counterpart and total point runner-up, sophomore forward Gavin Gould, has notched 11 goals and 12 assists.
A Huskie trio is tied for third with 21 points including the 2013 San Jose Sharks 7th round pick Jake Jackson, forward Alex Smith and defenseman Mark Auk.
In the last two series, MTU rotated their three netminders, junior Patrick Munson, senior Devin Kero, and freshman Robbie Beydoun. Munson owns the title for most games played with a .896 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average.
Kero took the 'L' against ASU last month after allowing three goals and playing just over half of the 60-minute competition. He boasts a .913 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average. Munson faced seven Sun Devil shots through the last 23 minutes of play in Las Vegas.
Puck drop both nights are scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET/5:07 p.m. MT.
ASU (7-18-5) is coming off their third bye week after a trip to Yale two weeks ago. In New Haven, the Sun Devils suffered their first overtime loss since their inaugural NCAA game against Alaska-Anchorage and look to bounce back against a familiar foe.
"This will be an excellent trip for us as we get to play in one of the best venues in all of college hockey against a historic program like Michigan Tech," said head coach Greg Powers. "We know we'll get Michigan Tech's very best after seeing them in Las Vegas last month so we'll have to be at the very top of our game to go and have success against a very good hockey team."
The Sun Devils last met Michigan Tech (15-13-5) at T-Mobile Arena, the home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, to kick off the 2018 half of the season. ASU eased past Northern Michigan, 7-3, to face-off against MTU in the championship berth.
In the fight for the championship, the Sun Devils controlled the first and second frames, with two goals from leading point scorer Brinson Pasichnuk and another from freshman Johnny Walker, to lead 3-0 going into the third period.
Sophomore netminder Joey Daccord finished the night with 36 saves on 38 shots after the Huskies capitalized on a power play for their first goal and a scramble in the crease to shove their second goal past Daccord.
The Devils left Sin City with one of the biggest jackpots in program history: their first tournament win after knocking off two teams who were receiving votes in the USCHO poll.
In the eight games since Las Vegas, Pasichnuk – who was dubbed the tournament MVP – has collected one goal and seven assists for a point-per-game average and 22 total points so far this season.
Daccord continues to be the anchor of the team with 52 saves in an overtime loss at Yale, just one save shy of the program record (53) which he set against Quinnipiac last year. Through 28 games, Daccord ranks first in NCAA Division I in both saves (936) and shots faced (1030).
With his 10th goal of the season, ASU's leading goal scorer, Walker, broke the program's record for goals scored by a freshman in a season, which was originally set by sophomore Tyler Busch (9) last year. Walker ranks 5th in the country among freshman goal scorers and 18th overall in the NCAA for shots on goal with 106 sent on net through 28 games.
Fellow freshman Max Balinson and forward Steenn Pasichnuk achieved multi-point games over the weekend at Yale. Balinson tallied his third goal of the season and an assist, while Steenn's two assists became his first collegiate multi-point game.
The Huskies split the last eight games since meeting in Las Vegas with four losses and four wins, including recent lopsided splits against Bemidji State -- who is receiving votes in the USCHO poll -- and No. 14 Bowling Green.
MTU is led by a strong upperclassmen squad, and are paced by junior top point scorer Jake Lucchini with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 33 games played.
Lucchini's counterpart and total point runner-up, sophomore forward Gavin Gould, has notched 11 goals and 12 assists.
A Huskie trio is tied for third with 21 points including the 2013 San Jose Sharks 7th round pick Jake Jackson, forward Alex Smith and defenseman Mark Auk.
In the last two series, MTU rotated their three netminders, junior Patrick Munson, senior Devin Kero, and freshman Robbie Beydoun. Munson owns the title for most games played with a .896 save percentage and 2.93 goals against average.
Kero took the 'L' against ASU last month after allowing three goals and playing just over half of the 60-minute competition. He boasts a .913 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average. Munson faced seven Sun Devil shots through the last 23 minutes of play in Las Vegas.
Puck drop both nights are scheduled for 7:07 p.m. ET/5:07 p.m. MT.