TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Hockey (7-4-1) prepares for one of the biggest home weekends in program history as they welcome college hockey blue blood No. 4/4 Denver (9-3-2) for their first trip to the desert. It's the first time in program history the Sun Devils – ranked No. 20 – will host a top-five team in a series while also being ranked.
The primetime showdown kicks off Friday at Oceanside Ice Arena in front of a sold-out crowd at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday's rematch is hosted at Gila River Arena in Glendale at 4:30 p.m. Game two is Boys & Girls Club Night and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
"They're a blue blood in every way," said head coach Greg Powers. "They have won a ton of National Championships, they've been to some Frozen Fours recently, and they are a great team. But it's exciting to host such a great program and I think it's exciting for our fans here to be able to go watch us play such a great program and hopefully people come out in abundance and enjoy it."
Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com or by calling 480-563-PUCK (7825). Discounted admission is available for fans who bring new or gently used sports equipment to the gates of Gila River Arena for the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Phoenix.
Diving into the Devils
Coming into the weekend, the Sun Devils have won six of their last eight games with just one loss and a tie most recently to Vermont on Saturday. Two of those six came in a home sweep of then-No. 9 Quinnipiac, earning ASU the program's first sweep of a top-10 team. A key part to that stretch of success has been a combination of sophomore goaltender Evan DeBrouwer and junior forward James Sanchez.
Over his last eight games, DeBrouwer boasts a 6-1-1 record with a 1.62 goals against average, .940 save percentage and two shutouts. He ranks among the top-10 goalies in the country in all of those categories during that stretch. Sanchez was riding a seven-game point streak into Saturday's contest with three goals and nine assists before being held off the scoresheet. In the four games prior to Saturday, he had two-points per game with two goals and six assists. He's had two points in six of the Sun Devils 12 games, and only held pointless in two.
Preparing for the Pioneers
After earning the No. 2 ranking in the preseason polls and eventually moving to No. 1 for several weeks, the Pioneers were rolling out of the gates with an 8-0-0 start to the season. Since that first weekend of November, Denver has gone 1-3-2 in their first three weeks of NCHC play. The No. 4 Pios earned that lone victory most recently two Saturday's ago behind a 6-1 victory over Western Michigan. Prior to the six-goal explosion, Denver's offense was sputtering with an average of 1.6 goals per game during their 0-3-2 stretch and just a goal in three of them.
Coming off their second bye week of the season, Denver is led offensively by junior d-man and Chicago Blackhawks' prospect Ian Mitchell (3g, 9a) and sophomore forward and Calgary Flames' draftee Emilio Pettersen (2g, 10a). Philadelphia Flyers' recent second-round draft pick Bobby Brink is on a heater as of late with two goals and two assists in the last two games, including a three-point night in their recent win against Western Michigan. The Pioneers feature debatably the best goaltending tandem in college hockey with freshman Magnus Chrona and junior Devin Cooley. Chrona got Denver started this season with a 7-3-2 record, .920 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average, while Cooley recorded the most recent victory in his first start back from injury allowing just one goal.
The primetime showdown kicks off Friday at Oceanside Ice Arena in front of a sold-out crowd at 7:05 p.m., while Saturday's rematch is hosted at Gila River Arena in Glendale at 4:30 p.m. Game two is Boys & Girls Club Night and will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
"They're a blue blood in every way," said head coach Greg Powers. "They have won a ton of National Championships, they've been to some Frozen Fours recently, and they are a great team. But it's exciting to host such a great program and I think it's exciting for our fans here to be able to go watch us play such a great program and hopefully people come out in abundance and enjoy it."
Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com or by calling 480-563-PUCK (7825). Discounted admission is available for fans who bring new or gently used sports equipment to the gates of Gila River Arena for the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Phoenix.
Diving into the Devils
Coming into the weekend, the Sun Devils have won six of their last eight games with just one loss and a tie most recently to Vermont on Saturday. Two of those six came in a home sweep of then-No. 9 Quinnipiac, earning ASU the program's first sweep of a top-10 team. A key part to that stretch of success has been a combination of sophomore goaltender Evan DeBrouwer and junior forward James Sanchez.
Over his last eight games, DeBrouwer boasts a 6-1-1 record with a 1.62 goals against average, .940 save percentage and two shutouts. He ranks among the top-10 goalies in the country in all of those categories during that stretch. Sanchez was riding a seven-game point streak into Saturday's contest with three goals and nine assists before being held off the scoresheet. In the four games prior to Saturday, he had two-points per game with two goals and six assists. He's had two points in six of the Sun Devils 12 games, and only held pointless in two.
Preparing for the Pioneers
After earning the No. 2 ranking in the preseason polls and eventually moving to No. 1 for several weeks, the Pioneers were rolling out of the gates with an 8-0-0 start to the season. Since that first weekend of November, Denver has gone 1-3-2 in their first three weeks of NCHC play. The No. 4 Pios earned that lone victory most recently two Saturday's ago behind a 6-1 victory over Western Michigan. Prior to the six-goal explosion, Denver's offense was sputtering with an average of 1.6 goals per game during their 0-3-2 stretch and just a goal in three of them.
Coming off their second bye week of the season, Denver is led offensively by junior d-man and Chicago Blackhawks' prospect Ian Mitchell (3g, 9a) and sophomore forward and Calgary Flames' draftee Emilio Pettersen (2g, 10a). Philadelphia Flyers' recent second-round draft pick Bobby Brink is on a heater as of late with two goals and two assists in the last two games, including a three-point night in their recent win against Western Michigan. The Pioneers feature debatably the best goaltending tandem in college hockey with freshman Magnus Chrona and junior Devin Cooley. Chrona got Denver started this season with a 7-3-2 record, .920 save percentage and 2.15 goals against average, while Cooley recorded the most recent victory in his first start back from injury allowing just one goal.