Below are notes and numbers on the 2021-22 Sun Devil Hockey season.
OFFENSE: This season the team boasted three of the top-10 scorers in the nation in Colin Theisen, Matthew Kopperud and Josh Doan. ASU scored 116 goals in 35 games for a 3.31 goals per game average, ranked No. 11 in the country.
ASU was quick to cash in on goal-scoring opportunities this season, notching XX goals within the first five minutes of play this season.
ASU's GOALS IN FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF PLAY
2:31 - Oct. 2, 2021 vs. UMass Lowell - Matthew Kopperud (PPG)
1:38 - Oct. 8, 2021 at Denver - Johnny Walker (PPG)
1:41 - Nov. 26, 2021 vs. No. 18 Bemidji State - Sean Dhooghe
1:19 - Dec. 18, 2021 at Colorado College - Colin Theisen (SHG)
1:43 - Jan. 2, 2022 vs. No. 9 Cornell - Ty Murchison
1:01 - Jan. 28, 2022 at No. 1 Minnesota State - Matthew Kopperud
3:09 - March 12, 2022 vs. Long Island - Jack Becker
SPECIAL TEAMS: ASU finished the season with a top-15 power play team - the special teams group converted on the man-advantage 22.9 percent of opportunities. The Sun Devil power play unit crippled some of the best penalty kill teams in the country, scoring on five of the top-10 PK systems in the NCAA. ASU scored power play goals on second-best PK team Quinnipiac, fourth-best Northwestern (twice), fifth-best New Hampshire, eighth-best Minnesota State and ninth-best Clarkson.
RECORD-SETTERS
After an unusual freshman year in 2020-21, Matthew Kopperud enjoyed the return to normalcy in 2021-22. The Colorado native stepped on home ice for his first-ever collegiate game in front of a home crowd as a sophomore. He wasted no time in getting acquainted with home ice advantage, scoring five points (3G, 2A) in the opening series at Oceanside Ice Arena. With an average 1.5 points per game through the first 12 games, Kopperud led the NCAA in points for five-straight weeks. Kopperud finished the season tied in second place for points in a single season behind 2021-22 teammate, Colin Theisen. He also ranked second in the program record book for goals in a single season with 22 (just one shy of the record set by Johnny Walker in 2018-19).
DOAN IN THE DESERT
Josh Doan crashed into the college hockey world as a freshman in 2021-22. He finished his rookie season as the team's leader in assists (25) and ranked third in total point scoring with 37. For the majority of the regular season, Doan led all rookie point-scoring in NCAA Division I hockey. In only 33 games, Doan leapt into Sun Devil Hockey record books – already landing in the top-10 of career assists and power play goals. In the single-season program record book, Doan finished tied for first in assists (25), tied for fifth in points (37), tied for ninth in goals (12), and tied for seventh in power play goals (4). He shattered both the points by a freshman and assists by a freshman records that were set five years ago by Johnny Walker. Doan's 37 points outpace the previous record by 11 while his 25 assists eclipse the former record by eight. His 11 goals rank third in goals by a freshman in program history. He completed his freshman campaign with 10 multi-point nights, including three with a trio of points. One of his two-goal nights was scored against then-No. 1 Minnesota State. He recorded a +9 plus-minus, the second highest on the Sun Devil roster. The Arizona native also tallied a season high six-game point-scoring streak to conclude the season through matchups against No. 1 Minnesota State, Alaska Fairbanks, and Long Island. Doan also shined on the road – scoring 20 of his 37 points in enemy territory.
KRAW DADDY FINDS A HOME AT OCEANSIDE
Ben Kraws played in 27 games with 23 starts (12-11-1) and finished with a 2.97 GAA and .907 save percentage. His 12 wins is second-most in ASU's single season records as Kraws made his way to a monumental 689 saves in the 2021-22 season, which ranks third in the single-season records following only Joey Daccord records set in 2017-18 and 2018-19. His goals-against average for the season of 2.97 ranks third in single-season record books while Kraws also boasted the second-best record for a single season in program history with 12-11-1. The New Jersey native made a career-high 49 saves at No. 5 Quinnipiac on Nov. 13 - just one shy of the program record for saves in a single game (Joey Daccord - 50 vs. Quinnipiac). In his relief appearance against the eventual 2022 National Champions Denver, Kraws held the Pioneer offense to only one goal against while capturing 16 saves with a little over one period of play. Kraws made 69 saves throughout the series (33 on Dec. 10 and 36 on Dec. 11) to backstop the Sun Devils to their first sweep of a top-20 ranked team this season. In enemy territory, Kraws stifled then-No. 1 Minnesota State with his second 40+ save game on Jan. 29 with 42 total saves. Clutch between the pipes and leading in the classroom - Kraws is the first-ever Barrett, The Honors College student in Sun Devil Hockey program history.
MULTI-POINT GAMES (*returning skaters)
ASU 3, #9 Cornell 2 (Jan. 2, 2022)/Greg Powers
ASU 5, #9 Cornell 2 (Jan. 1, 2022)/Greg Powers
ASU 6, #13 Notre Dame 3 (Dec. 3, 2020)/Greg Powers
ASU 3, #14 Wisconsin 1 (Nov. 29, 2020)/Greg Powers
ASU 8, #14 Wisconsin 5 (Nov. 28, 2020)/Greg Powers
#13 ASU 3, #8 Clarkson 2 (Jan. 25, 2020)/Greg Powers
#20 ASU 4, #4 Denver 1 (Dec. 6, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 4, #9 Quinnipiac 1 (Nov. 2, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 5, #9 Quinnipiac 3 (Nov. 1, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 4, #6 Penn State 3 OT (Nov. 3, 2018)/Greg Powers
PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTS
Six skaters inked professional contracts to continue their careers after ASU's 2021-22 hockey season. The six, including four forwards and two defensemen, set the record for the most professional contracts signed after a season in program history. The six join 17 fellow Sun Devils who continued their playing careers in a professional capacity after skating for ASU.
Colin Theisen - Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Jacob Wilson - Providence Bruins (AHL)
Johnny Walker - Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
Tim Theocharidis - Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)
Jack Becker - Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
Willie Knierim - Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
OFFENSE: This season the team boasted three of the top-10 scorers in the nation in Colin Theisen, Matthew Kopperud and Josh Doan. ASU scored 116 goals in 35 games for a 3.31 goals per game average, ranked No. 11 in the country.
ASU was quick to cash in on goal-scoring opportunities this season, notching XX goals within the first five minutes of play this season.
ASU's GOALS IN FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF PLAY
2:31 - Oct. 2, 2021 vs. UMass Lowell - Matthew Kopperud (PPG)
1:38 - Oct. 8, 2021 at Denver - Johnny Walker (PPG)
1:41 - Nov. 26, 2021 vs. No. 18 Bemidji State - Sean Dhooghe
1:19 - Dec. 18, 2021 at Colorado College - Colin Theisen (SHG)
1:43 - Jan. 2, 2022 vs. No. 9 Cornell - Ty Murchison
1:01 - Jan. 28, 2022 at No. 1 Minnesota State - Matthew Kopperud
3:09 - March 12, 2022 vs. Long Island - Jack Becker
SPECIAL TEAMS: ASU finished the season with a top-15 power play team - the special teams group converted on the man-advantage 22.9 percent of opportunities. The Sun Devil power play unit crippled some of the best penalty kill teams in the country, scoring on five of the top-10 PK systems in the NCAA. ASU scored power play goals on second-best PK team Quinnipiac, fourth-best Northwestern (twice), fifth-best New Hampshire, eighth-best Minnesota State and ninth-best Clarkson.
RECORD-SETTERS
- ASU recorded five-straight wins versus USCHO.com Top-20 opponents in 2021-22 for the first time in program history (the previous record for consecutive wins against ranked opponents was three-straight games).
- ASU swept No. 9 Cornell on Jan. 1-2, 2022 for the first sweep over a top-10 team since defeating No. 9 Quinnipiac in November 2019. The Sun Devils put on a clinic in game one against the Big Red - handing them just their second loss of the season. ASU scored five goals in the New Years Day tilt, second-most allowed by Cornell all season.
- Ben Kraws set a new career high for most saves in a game with 50 at No. 5 Quinnipiac on Nov. 13. The ASU program record for saves in a game is 50 by Joey Daccord at Quinnipiac.
- Josh Doan collected two program records at the end of his rookie season: most points scored by a freshman (37) and most assists by a freshman. His 25 assists ties the overall single season assist record set by James Sanchez.
- Colin Theisen became the new program record holder for most points in a single season with 42.
After an unusual freshman year in 2020-21, Matthew Kopperud enjoyed the return to normalcy in 2021-22. The Colorado native stepped on home ice for his first-ever collegiate game in front of a home crowd as a sophomore. He wasted no time in getting acquainted with home ice advantage, scoring five points (3G, 2A) in the opening series at Oceanside Ice Arena. With an average 1.5 points per game through the first 12 games, Kopperud led the NCAA in points for five-straight weeks. Kopperud finished the season tied in second place for points in a single season behind 2021-22 teammate, Colin Theisen. He also ranked second in the program record book for goals in a single season with 22 (just one shy of the record set by Johnny Walker in 2018-19).
DOAN IN THE DESERT
Josh Doan crashed into the college hockey world as a freshman in 2021-22. He finished his rookie season as the team's leader in assists (25) and ranked third in total point scoring with 37. For the majority of the regular season, Doan led all rookie point-scoring in NCAA Division I hockey. In only 33 games, Doan leapt into Sun Devil Hockey record books – already landing in the top-10 of career assists and power play goals. In the single-season program record book, Doan finished tied for first in assists (25), tied for fifth in points (37), tied for ninth in goals (12), and tied for seventh in power play goals (4). He shattered both the points by a freshman and assists by a freshman records that were set five years ago by Johnny Walker. Doan's 37 points outpace the previous record by 11 while his 25 assists eclipse the former record by eight. His 11 goals rank third in goals by a freshman in program history. He completed his freshman campaign with 10 multi-point nights, including three with a trio of points. One of his two-goal nights was scored against then-No. 1 Minnesota State. He recorded a +9 plus-minus, the second highest on the Sun Devil roster. The Arizona native also tallied a season high six-game point-scoring streak to conclude the season through matchups against No. 1 Minnesota State, Alaska Fairbanks, and Long Island. Doan also shined on the road – scoring 20 of his 37 points in enemy territory.
KRAW DADDY FINDS A HOME AT OCEANSIDE
Ben Kraws played in 27 games with 23 starts (12-11-1) and finished with a 2.97 GAA and .907 save percentage. His 12 wins is second-most in ASU's single season records as Kraws made his way to a monumental 689 saves in the 2021-22 season, which ranks third in the single-season records following only Joey Daccord records set in 2017-18 and 2018-19. His goals-against average for the season of 2.97 ranks third in single-season record books while Kraws also boasted the second-best record for a single season in program history with 12-11-1. The New Jersey native made a career-high 49 saves at No. 5 Quinnipiac on Nov. 13 - just one shy of the program record for saves in a single game (Joey Daccord - 50 vs. Quinnipiac). In his relief appearance against the eventual 2022 National Champions Denver, Kraws held the Pioneer offense to only one goal against while capturing 16 saves with a little over one period of play. Kraws made 69 saves throughout the series (33 on Dec. 10 and 36 on Dec. 11) to backstop the Sun Devils to their first sweep of a top-20 ranked team this season. In enemy territory, Kraws stifled then-No. 1 Minnesota State with his second 40+ save game on Jan. 29 with 42 total saves. Clutch between the pipes and leading in the classroom - Kraws is the first-ever Barrett, The Honors College student in Sun Devil Hockey program history.
MULTI-POINT GAMES (*returning skaters)
- Matthew Kopperud - 13 games*
- Colin Theisen - 12 games
- *Josh Doan - 10 games*
- Jack Becker - 6 games
- Tim Lovell - 5 games*
- Jack Jensen - 3 games*
ASU 3, #9 Cornell 2 (Jan. 2, 2022)/Greg Powers
ASU 5, #9 Cornell 2 (Jan. 1, 2022)/Greg Powers
ASU 6, #13 Notre Dame 3 (Dec. 3, 2020)/Greg Powers
ASU 3, #14 Wisconsin 1 (Nov. 29, 2020)/Greg Powers
ASU 8, #14 Wisconsin 5 (Nov. 28, 2020)/Greg Powers
#13 ASU 3, #8 Clarkson 2 (Jan. 25, 2020)/Greg Powers
#20 ASU 4, #4 Denver 1 (Dec. 6, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 4, #9 Quinnipiac 1 (Nov. 2, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 5, #9 Quinnipiac 3 (Nov. 1, 2019)/Greg Powers
ASU 4, #6 Penn State 3 OT (Nov. 3, 2018)/Greg Powers
PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTS
Six skaters inked professional contracts to continue their careers after ASU's 2021-22 hockey season. The six, including four forwards and two defensemen, set the record for the most professional contracts signed after a season in program history. The six join 17 fellow Sun Devils who continued their playing careers in a professional capacity after skating for ASU.
Colin Theisen - Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Jacob Wilson - Providence Bruins (AHL)
Johnny Walker - Utah Grizzlies (ECHL)
Tim Theocharidis - Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)
Jack Becker - Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)
Willie Knierim - Idaho Steelheads (ECHL)