TEMPE, Ariz. – The 2020 half of the season gets underway this weekend for No. 17 Sun Devil Hockey as they host Michigan Tech Saturday and Sunday for their first game back at Oceanside Ice Arena since Dec. 6. Saturday is Junior Sun Devil Club Night at 7:05 p.m. while Sunday is a Whiteout at 3 p.m.
The Sun Devils (10-7-3) are coming off their first series loss since Oct. 11-12 at then-No. 3 Minnesota State, while the Huskies (12-8-1) captured their first Great Lakes Invitational championship since 2012.
"They have good goaltending – he's playing really well for them – they just keep teams at bay and lull them to sleep and you blink and you're down," said head coach Greg Powers. "They're well coached and that's what good teams do. They have four lines that can play and really grind you down, and good goaltending. They're tough to play against and you can see it in their schedule with a lot of wins they have."
Last Time They Met...
Sun Devil Rewind
The Sun Devils are coming off their first series loss since being swept by then-No. 3 Minnesota State on Oct. 11-12, losing game one before rallying from three goals down to tie No. 16 Harvard in game two in Irvine for the inaugural SoCal Clash.
Sophomore forward PJ Marrocco and junior forward Johnny Walker had quite the month of December, scoring five and six goals respectively. Walker tied for first in the country in total points in December with nine, while Marrocco tied for third in goals.
Junior forward James Sanchez continues to pace the Sun Devils in points after a seven-point month of December (tied for fifth nationally) and now sits tied for 3rd in points in the country this season with 24.
Between the pipes, sophomore Evan DeBrouwer came up big in relief against Harvard on Sunday, making 16 saves on 17 shots to preserve the tie.
Rolling into 2020
Michigan Tech finished 2019 with a bang, capturing the Great Lakes Invitational championship for the first time since 2012 with 4-2 wins over in-state Big Ten programs Michigan State and Michigan.
The Huskies have been on a roll since being swept by Minnesota State in early November, winning nine of their last 12 with just two losses and a tie. In six of their last seven games, they've allowed two goals or less. This is heavily in part to senior netminder Matt Jurusik, who boasts a 1.99 goals against average and .926 save percentage in those 12 games.
Up front, sophomore forward Alec Broetzman has been on a tear the last five games with four goals and two assists. More recently, freshman forward Logan Pietila recorded three of his four goals on the season in the Great Lakes Invitational championship game. Senior forward Alex Smith is on a five-game point streak currently with two goals and three assists in that stretch.
The Sun Devils (10-7-3) are coming off their first series loss since Oct. 11-12 at then-No. 3 Minnesota State, while the Huskies (12-8-1) captured their first Great Lakes Invitational championship since 2012.
"They have good goaltending – he's playing really well for them – they just keep teams at bay and lull them to sleep and you blink and you're down," said head coach Greg Powers. "They're well coached and that's what good teams do. They have four lines that can play and really grind you down, and good goaltending. They're tough to play against and you can see it in their schedule with a lot of wins they have."
Last Time They Met...
- Jan. 6, 2018: At the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational -- now named the Fortress Invitational -- the Sun Devils and Michigan Tech met for the first time in the tournament championship. ASU jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two periods, and while the Huskies managed to make it interesting late, the Sun Devils closed out with a 3-2 win and the inaugural championship. Defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk netted two goals, while Johnny Walker scored as well.
- Feb. 16, 2018: ASU made their first trip to the upper peninsula just a month later, and despite getting down 1-0 in the 1st period, clawed back to win the game 2-1 in overtime thanks to a goal by defenseman Jacob Wilson. Walker also scored in that game to tie it in the 2nd period.
- Feb. 17, 2018: Despite holding a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes in the third meeting, and tying the game up 3-3 early in the 3rd period, Michigan Tech scored two goals in 14 seconds in the 3rd for a 5-3 win. Walker netted two goals for a total of four in the three games against the Huskies, while Brinson added another for his third in as many match-ups.
Sun Devil Rewind
The Sun Devils are coming off their first series loss since being swept by then-No. 3 Minnesota State on Oct. 11-12, losing game one before rallying from three goals down to tie No. 16 Harvard in game two in Irvine for the inaugural SoCal Clash.
Sophomore forward PJ Marrocco and junior forward Johnny Walker had quite the month of December, scoring five and six goals respectively. Walker tied for first in the country in total points in December with nine, while Marrocco tied for third in goals.
Junior forward James Sanchez continues to pace the Sun Devils in points after a seven-point month of December (tied for fifth nationally) and now sits tied for 3rd in points in the country this season with 24.
Between the pipes, sophomore Evan DeBrouwer came up big in relief against Harvard on Sunday, making 16 saves on 17 shots to preserve the tie.
Rolling into 2020
Michigan Tech finished 2019 with a bang, capturing the Great Lakes Invitational championship for the first time since 2012 with 4-2 wins over in-state Big Ten programs Michigan State and Michigan.
The Huskies have been on a roll since being swept by Minnesota State in early November, winning nine of their last 12 with just two losses and a tie. In six of their last seven games, they've allowed two goals or less. This is heavily in part to senior netminder Matt Jurusik, who boasts a 1.99 goals against average and .926 save percentage in those 12 games.
Up front, sophomore forward Alec Broetzman has been on a tear the last five games with four goals and two assists. More recently, freshman forward Logan Pietila recorded three of his four goals on the season in the Great Lakes Invitational championship game. Senior forward Alex Smith is on a five-game point streak currently with two goals and three assists in that stretch.