Preview by Liesl Babicka, Sun Devil Athletics' Intern
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Sun Devils' five seniors lace up their skates for their final home games at Oceanside Ice Arena against American International College (17-12-1) Friday and Saturday night.
Head Coach Greg Powers and the rest of the squad will be celebrating the first four-year graduating Division I class, including Anthony Croston, Dylan Hollman, Jack Rowe and Jake Clifford. Senior defenseman Jakob Stridsberg joins the four as the final member of the senior class.
"What we've defined our culture to be is to leave the program better than when you found it," said head coach Greg Powers. "These seniors -- they're the ones that made it through. We brought in a lot of kids in that first hybrid year not knowing who was going to make it through, who might get over recruited, and who would be a long term fit because of how fast we jumped into it. These are the guys we knew we could build around."
Each of the five seniors have a unique journey in their route to wearing the Maroon & Gold.
Croston, a Phoenix native, immediately knew he wanted to wear the Pitchfork on his chest for his hometown school. After coming in as a "walk-on" without an athletic scholarship, Croston earned a leadership role as an alternate captain by his sophomore season, and became a scholarship athlete. He's never looked back and is the only player to date to have played 100 games with the Pitchfork on his chest.
After suffering an injury in a practice at UMass-Lowell his freshman season -- putting him out for over half of the season -- Hollman was compelled to join a new program in the desert. Since his arrival, Hollman immediately took on a leadership roll on and off the ice. Coach Powers refers to Hollman as his first captain at the Division I level, and now in his senior season, is hitting all-time highs in goals (11) and tied currently in points (17).
After coming in as a defenseman, Clifford began to see his time on the ice dwindling by his sophomore season. That offseason, he approached Powers about doing whatever it takes to help the team. He transitioned to a forward his junior season and has never looked back, playing in 61 of 64 games since. He's held an important role on the Sun Devils' fourth line, which Powers frequently puts on the ice to neutralize some of the top lines in the country.
Rowe will forever be inked in the history of Sun Devil Hockey, as he netted the first-ever Division I goal on Oct. 9, 2015 against Alaska Anchorage. He ranks it as one of his greatest moments in his hockey career, which includes winning a gold medal with Team USA U-17 Selects at the Five Nations Tournament in Switzerland.
Last but not least, Stridsberg came in with just three years of eligibility and wasted no time making the most of it. As the first European player in program history, Stridsberg played in all 32 games as a freshman and led all Sun Devil defensemen in scoring his first season. He followed that up playing all but two games last year.
Buzzing at the Right Time
Arizona State (19-10-1) previously swept Rochester Institute of Technology in New York before going on a week hiatus.
This isn't the first time the Devils and Yellow Jackets have faced off on the ice. Two years ago, ASU won 3-2 in Massachusetts with now-senior Jack Rowe scoring his first goal of the 2016-17 season.
Then-freshman forward Blake Christensen, who is now tied for fourth in the NCAA in points with 37, scored for the Yellow Jackets that night as well. Christensen paces AIC with 13 goals and 24 assists.
However, sophomore forward Tobias Fladeby leads the team in scoring with 14 goals this season, including four game winners.
The Yellow Jackets come to Tempe currently pacing the Atlantic Division with three weeks remaining in the season, and ranked No. 29 in the Pairwise. They've won five in a row and eight of their last nine.
Sun Devil sophomore forward Johnny Walker continues to lead the NCAA with 22 goals, ahead of the next man in line by a margin of four goals. He's currently on a three-game point streak with three goals and two assists.
Junior d-man Brinson Pasichnuk has also been good as of late with five goals and two assists in the last seven games for a point-per-game average.
Between the pipes, Daccord remains tied for fifth in the country in save percentage at .931 while pacing the country in shutouts (7). For AIC, Zackarias Skog boasts a 14-9-0 record, .892 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average.
Puck drop is 7:05 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night with the games being streamed on ASU Live Stream-2.
Tickets for this weekend are sold out.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Sun Devils' five seniors lace up their skates for their final home games at Oceanside Ice Arena against American International College (17-12-1) Friday and Saturday night.
Head Coach Greg Powers and the rest of the squad will be celebrating the first four-year graduating Division I class, including Anthony Croston, Dylan Hollman, Jack Rowe and Jake Clifford. Senior defenseman Jakob Stridsberg joins the four as the final member of the senior class.
"What we've defined our culture to be is to leave the program better than when you found it," said head coach Greg Powers. "These seniors -- they're the ones that made it through. We brought in a lot of kids in that first hybrid year not knowing who was going to make it through, who might get over recruited, and who would be a long term fit because of how fast we jumped into it. These are the guys we knew we could build around."
Each of the five seniors have a unique journey in their route to wearing the Maroon & Gold.
Croston, a Phoenix native, immediately knew he wanted to wear the Pitchfork on his chest for his hometown school. After coming in as a "walk-on" without an athletic scholarship, Croston earned a leadership role as an alternate captain by his sophomore season, and became a scholarship athlete. He's never looked back and is the only player to date to have played 100 games with the Pitchfork on his chest.
After suffering an injury in a practice at UMass-Lowell his freshman season -- putting him out for over half of the season -- Hollman was compelled to join a new program in the desert. Since his arrival, Hollman immediately took on a leadership roll on and off the ice. Coach Powers refers to Hollman as his first captain at the Division I level, and now in his senior season, is hitting all-time highs in goals (11) and tied currently in points (17).
After coming in as a defenseman, Clifford began to see his time on the ice dwindling by his sophomore season. That offseason, he approached Powers about doing whatever it takes to help the team. He transitioned to a forward his junior season and has never looked back, playing in 61 of 64 games since. He's held an important role on the Sun Devils' fourth line, which Powers frequently puts on the ice to neutralize some of the top lines in the country.
Rowe will forever be inked in the history of Sun Devil Hockey, as he netted the first-ever Division I goal on Oct. 9, 2015 against Alaska Anchorage. He ranks it as one of his greatest moments in his hockey career, which includes winning a gold medal with Team USA U-17 Selects at the Five Nations Tournament in Switzerland.
Last but not least, Stridsberg came in with just three years of eligibility and wasted no time making the most of it. As the first European player in program history, Stridsberg played in all 32 games as a freshman and led all Sun Devil defensemen in scoring his first season. He followed that up playing all but two games last year.
Buzzing at the Right Time
Arizona State (19-10-1) previously swept Rochester Institute of Technology in New York before going on a week hiatus.
This isn't the first time the Devils and Yellow Jackets have faced off on the ice. Two years ago, ASU won 3-2 in Massachusetts with now-senior Jack Rowe scoring his first goal of the 2016-17 season.
Then-freshman forward Blake Christensen, who is now tied for fourth in the NCAA in points with 37, scored for the Yellow Jackets that night as well. Christensen paces AIC with 13 goals and 24 assists.
However, sophomore forward Tobias Fladeby leads the team in scoring with 14 goals this season, including four game winners.
The Yellow Jackets come to Tempe currently pacing the Atlantic Division with three weeks remaining in the season, and ranked No. 29 in the Pairwise. They've won five in a row and eight of their last nine.
Sun Devil sophomore forward Johnny Walker continues to lead the NCAA with 22 goals, ahead of the next man in line by a margin of four goals. He's currently on a three-game point streak with three goals and two assists.
Junior d-man Brinson Pasichnuk has also been good as of late with five goals and two assists in the last seven games for a point-per-game average.
Between the pipes, Daccord remains tied for fifth in the country in save percentage at .931 while pacing the country in shutouts (7). For AIC, Zackarias Skog boasts a 14-9-0 record, .892 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average.
Puck drop is 7:05 p.m. both Friday and Saturday night with the games being streamed on ASU Live Stream-2.
Tickets for this weekend are sold out.