ASU becomes the first independent program to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Alaska Anchorage in 1991-92.
"Today is a historical and memorable day for this program and this university, and these 28 players will forever be remembered in Sun Devil Hockey history," said head coach Greg Powers. "When this senior and junior class arrived in Tempe, we identified the 2018-19 season as one that could be special. They arrived with the motto 'Be the Tradition', and now they can say they are 'The Tradition'."
The winner of the ASU-Quinnipiac game will play the winner of the matchup between No. 1 seed Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 seed Bowling Green on Sunday, March 31 for the right to advance to the Frozen Four.
Arizona State becomes the fastest program to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Mercyhurst in 2000-01, when they qualified in their first year of Division I play.
This Season
- Won 13 more games than the 2017-18 season, moving from 8-21-5 to 21-12-1
- Made the biggest jump in the Pairwise rankings in all of Division I, moving from 53 at the end of 2017-18 to 10 in 2018-19
- The next closest was Lake Superior State (34 spots) and UMass-Amherst (32 spots)
- Of the six conference championships, the Sun Devils played three conference champions during the 2018-19 season with a 2-1-1 record in those games. They also played three of the runner-ups with a record of 3-3-0.
- Daccord is currently a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award, which is given to the nation's top goaltender
- Sophomore forward Johnny Walker and junior netminder Joey Daccord were candidates in the coveted Hobey Baker Memorial Award
- Johnny Walker led the country in goals scored during the regular season (23), and paced the country overall in goals per games played (0.74)
- Joey Daccord finished the regular season tied for the most shutouts (7), tied for second in wins (21), and top-10 in save percentage (.926)
- The Sun Devils captured their first-ever home sweep with back-to-back wins over Alaska Fairbanks for their best start to a season at 2-0
- ASU finished the season with six home sweeps and a 12-2 record
- The only two losses came to then-No. 1 Ohio State in week two
- Two wins over Alabama-Huntsville put them at their best-ever start at the time at 4-2, earning Coach Powers and the Sun Devils their first-ever vote in the USCHO top-20 poll in week three
- After a four-goal night and five-point weekend against Omaha in week four, Johnny Walker was named ESPN's Best Player in the World of the Week.
- The Sun Devils defeated a top-10 team for the first time in program history with a 4-3 overtime win over then-No. 6 Penn State on Nov. 3
- During week 6 of the season, the Sun Devils cracked the USCHO top-20 poll for the first time in program history at No. 18 following their first Big Ten series sweep against Michigan State.
- ASU took then-#3 Minnesota State to a tie with a game-tying goal with 28 seconds left in regulation in the Desert Hockey Classic. While it would go down as a tie, the Sun Devils won the shootout. It was their best performance as a program against a top-five ranked team
- The Sun Devils swept a Hockey East school for the first time in program history, outscoring traditional powerhouse Boston College 7-2
- In week 14, the Sun Devils captured their 17th win to move to 17-10-1, assuring the program their first above .500 season with six games to play.
- On February 18, the Sun Devils received their highest-ever USCHO ranking at No. 11. On that same day, the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine ranked ASU at No. 10 -- the highest-ever for that outlet as well.