Preview by Liesl Babicka, Sun Devil Athletics' Student Intern
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State men's hockey team begin their fourth season of NCAA Division I play this Saturday, October 6 against Alaska Fairbanks at 7:05 p.m. MST at Oceanside Ice Arena.
This isn't the first meeting between the Sun Devils and Nanooks.
In 2015, ASU stole the stage at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage against Alaska with a 2-1 victory in the last 34 seconds of the game for their first NCAA Division I win.
"Our guys have worked extremely hard over the last month and a half and are ready to finally play someone in another jersey," said head coach Greg Powers. "While this series brings back fond memories of our program's first D-I win, we're a different team and so are they. We're excited to get the season started."
During last season's run, the Sun Devils went 8-21-5, won their first tournament -- the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational -- and scored 77 goals from 19 different players.
The series against the Nanooks is the first of a 34-game schedule during which the Sun Devils will face eight of the current top-20 ranked hockey programs in the nation, according to USCHO.com, including eight participants from the 2018 NCAA tournament.
"Our expectations are literally to take it game by game," said head coach Greg Powers. "We put a countdown clock with the team's logo we are playing each week in the room, and we focus literally on one thing. We are focusing on Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks. Our guys are ready to go, they've had a great month and a half of putting in work and are ready to go."
The Sun Devils will wrap up the two-game series on Sunday with a matinee showdown at Oceanside Ice Arena at 3 p.m. for the annual Green Game.
The Nanooks went 11-22-3 in 2017-18, with notable wins against Bemidji State, Minnesota State-Mankato, and Northern Michigan. Despite beating MSU in season play, the Nanooks fell to them in the first round of WCHA playoffs.
Alaska finished eighth in their conference and are predicted to finish in eighth place again this season according to the 2018-2019 Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
First-year head coach Erik Largen and the Nanooks gain 10 newcomers, while 18 players return from last season including sophomore forward Steven Jandric and junior forward Colton Leiter. Jandric finished with a team-high 23 points, while Leiter wasn't far behind with 20.
Leiter tallied two goals and an assist in Alaska's 13-1 exhibition win against Simon Fraser. Chad Staley scored two goals while Nikolas Koberstein had three of the 13 goals for the Nanooks.
Players to Watch
Alternate captain Anthony Croston leads his fellow four seniors -- Louie Rowe, Dylan Hollman, Jack Rowe and Jake Clifford -- as the first recruiting class to graduate after four years at ASU.
Sophomore Johnny Walker returns as the Sun Devils' leading goal scorer with 17 goals during his freshman campaign, which ranked second among all freshmen nationally and set the new bar for goals in a season by a Sun Devil.
With the new 'C' on his chest, junior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk returns after a record-breaking performance in 2017-18 with a program-best 26 points from the blue line. Defensively, Pasichnuk finished in the top-16 among national defensemen in goals scored and points. He accrued eight goals and 18 assists in 34 games played to lead the team. He also finished the season on a five-game point streak with eight multi-point games and 17 points in his last 14 games.
Fellow junior Brett Gruber also made a statement last year, with a personal-best 25 points behind a new program record with 20 assists during his sophomore season.
Freshman Demetrios Koumontzis, a 2018 fourth round draft pick by the Calgary Flames, will be sporting the Sun Devil jersey for the first time in his career this weekend. Koumontzis grew up in Phoenix before eventually playing high school hockey at the highest level in Minnesota for Edina High School.
After three seasons in the BCHL, forward Jordan Sandhu brings speed and elusiveness to the ASU roster after racking up 99 points in 148 BCHL games played.
Between the pipes, Ottawa Senators' draft pick and junior goaltender Joey Daccord aims to build off of his sophomore season which featured starts in all but two games. He'll look to build off of his .909 save percentage and 3.51 goals against average from a season ago.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State men's hockey team begin their fourth season of NCAA Division I play this Saturday, October 6 against Alaska Fairbanks at 7:05 p.m. MST at Oceanside Ice Arena.
This isn't the first meeting between the Sun Devils and Nanooks.
In 2015, ASU stole the stage at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage against Alaska with a 2-1 victory in the last 34 seconds of the game for their first NCAA Division I win.
"Our guys have worked extremely hard over the last month and a half and are ready to finally play someone in another jersey," said head coach Greg Powers. "While this series brings back fond memories of our program's first D-I win, we're a different team and so are they. We're excited to get the season started."
During last season's run, the Sun Devils went 8-21-5, won their first tournament -- the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational -- and scored 77 goals from 19 different players.
The series against the Nanooks is the first of a 34-game schedule during which the Sun Devils will face eight of the current top-20 ranked hockey programs in the nation, according to USCHO.com, including eight participants from the 2018 NCAA tournament.
"Our expectations are literally to take it game by game," said head coach Greg Powers. "We put a countdown clock with the team's logo we are playing each week in the room, and we focus literally on one thing. We are focusing on Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks. Our guys are ready to go, they've had a great month and a half of putting in work and are ready to go."
The Sun Devils will wrap up the two-game series on Sunday with a matinee showdown at Oceanside Ice Arena at 3 p.m. for the annual Green Game.
Think before you throw and divert waste from the landfill. Throughout your game day, use the hashtag #GreenGameASU and show us how you're going green.
Wild AlaskaThe Nanooks went 11-22-3 in 2017-18, with notable wins against Bemidji State, Minnesota State-Mankato, and Northern Michigan. Despite beating MSU in season play, the Nanooks fell to them in the first round of WCHA playoffs.
Alaska finished eighth in their conference and are predicted to finish in eighth place again this season according to the 2018-2019 Mankato Free Press WCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
First-year head coach Erik Largen and the Nanooks gain 10 newcomers, while 18 players return from last season including sophomore forward Steven Jandric and junior forward Colton Leiter. Jandric finished with a team-high 23 points, while Leiter wasn't far behind with 20.
Leiter tallied two goals and an assist in Alaska's 13-1 exhibition win against Simon Fraser. Chad Staley scored two goals while Nikolas Koberstein had three of the 13 goals for the Nanooks.
Players to Watch
Alternate captain Anthony Croston leads his fellow four seniors -- Louie Rowe, Dylan Hollman, Jack Rowe and Jake Clifford -- as the first recruiting class to graduate after four years at ASU.
Sophomore Johnny Walker returns as the Sun Devils' leading goal scorer with 17 goals during his freshman campaign, which ranked second among all freshmen nationally and set the new bar for goals in a season by a Sun Devil.
With the new 'C' on his chest, junior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk returns after a record-breaking performance in 2017-18 with a program-best 26 points from the blue line. Defensively, Pasichnuk finished in the top-16 among national defensemen in goals scored and points. He accrued eight goals and 18 assists in 34 games played to lead the team. He also finished the season on a five-game point streak with eight multi-point games and 17 points in his last 14 games.
Fellow junior Brett Gruber also made a statement last year, with a personal-best 25 points behind a new program record with 20 assists during his sophomore season.
Freshman Demetrios Koumontzis, a 2018 fourth round draft pick by the Calgary Flames, will be sporting the Sun Devil jersey for the first time in his career this weekend. Koumontzis grew up in Phoenix before eventually playing high school hockey at the highest level in Minnesota for Edina High School.
After three seasons in the BCHL, forward Jordan Sandhu brings speed and elusiveness to the ASU roster after racking up 99 points in 148 BCHL games played.
Between the pipes, Ottawa Senators' draft pick and junior goaltender Joey Daccord aims to build off of his sophomore season which featured starts in all but two games. He'll look to build off of his .909 save percentage and 3.51 goals against average from a season ago.