TEMPE – Arizona State celebrated a Sweet 16 victory over the University of Arizona (ACHA) in its opening exhibition game at Mullett Arena on Friday night. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats, 16-0, in front of a nearly sold out crowd.
All three Sun Devil goaltenders: TJ Semptimphelter, Gibson Homer, and Hank Levy, put in time between the pipes, each taking their own period.
Fourteen different skaters lit the lamp, including two transfers: Tyler Gratton and Alex Young, and four freshmen: Josh Niedermayer, Kyle Smolen, Tony Achille, and Cole Helm.
ASU has now won 49 of the last 50 meetings between the two rivalry schools.
Arizona is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). As a non-NCAA member, the results of the exhibition game will not count toward either team's 2023-24 stats or record.
THE SCORESHEET
Six of the 16 goals were scored within the first period, giving the Sun Devils a comfortable lead heading into the second period.
QUOTES
Head coach Greg Powers
In regards to beating U of A:
"Yeah, I mean, it's not, it's never about that. I mean, we said we were gonna play hard, we have to play hard every time we put our jersey on, really credit to those kids. They kept fighting, they're blocking shots down 13 goals and you have to have a ton of respect for those kids on U of A for playing hard until the final horn. We've been there, we've been on the other side of it. It's not fun. But our guys have a responsibility when they put on our jersey to play a certain way and just play a certain way for our fans and they did that tonight. I think they did it in a really respectful way, as respectful as you can see winning 16 to nothing."
On message to team before they played:
"I mean, you know, there's always hope, right? And there's no way that every kid in that team didn't, at least, you know, envision what it would be like to come in here and get a win. The reality is people in Tempe don't care and people in Tucson don't care, they wouldn't care if we were a club team and they were a varsity team. They'd expect U of A to go hard. So, you know, out of respect for that rivalry and out of respect for our university and our fans, we had an obligation to play hard and our guys did. And it's as simple as that."
On what kind of season milestones are ahead for this year that Powers has for the group before joining the NCHC:
"We want to get to the tournament, we've done it technically twice as an independent. So we know what it takes to get there. This is one game at a time focusing on what's in front of us. We have a really tough test next week, and the average college sports fan is probably not gonna know who Merrimack is, but Merrimack is a great college hockey program. That's why they're ranked in the top 15. They're an NCAA tournament team that returned most of their team from last year. They lost in overtime in the hockey finals, so they are very, very good. We're gonna have to be a lot more crisp than we were tonight to have a chance to beat them."
All three Sun Devil goaltenders: TJ Semptimphelter, Gibson Homer, and Hank Levy, put in time between the pipes, each taking their own period.
Fourteen different skaters lit the lamp, including two transfers: Tyler Gratton and Alex Young, and four freshmen: Josh Niedermayer, Kyle Smolen, Tony Achille, and Cole Helm.
ASU has now won 49 of the last 50 meetings between the two rivalry schools.
Arizona is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). As a non-NCAA member, the results of the exhibition game will not count toward either team's 2023-24 stats or record.
THE SCORESHEET
| Period | Name | Assist 1 | Assist 2 |
| 1 | Alex Young | Matthew Kopperud | Tim Lovell |
| 1 | Josh Niedermayer | Dylan Jackson | Josh Niedermayer |
| 1 | Kyle Smolen | Tyler Gratton | Ethan Szmagaj |
| 1 | Matthew Kopperud | Tim Lovell | Brian Chambers |
| 1 | Benji Eckerle | Ryan O'Reilly | Josh Niedermayer |
| 1 | Lukas Sillinger | Matthew Kopperud | Alex Young |
| 2 | Tony Achille | Ethan Szamgaj | |
| 2 | Dylan Jackson | Tyler Gratton | Kyle Smolen |
| 2 | Ryan Alexander | ||
| 2 | Cole Helm | Tony Achille | Cade Alami |
| 2 | Tyler Gratton | Ethan Szmagaj | |
| 3 | Tyler Gratton | Tucker Ness | Josh Niedermayer |
| 3 | Charlie Schoen | David Hymovitch | |
| 3 | Tucker Ness | Josh Niedermayer | David Hymovitch |
| 3 | Ryan O'Reilly | Dylan Jackson | |
| 3 | Kyle Smolen |
THANK YOU CAP??
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 7, 2023
ASU 11 | Arizona 0#BetheTradition /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/SWJkBQJOuE
Six of the 16 goals were scored within the first period, giving the Sun Devils a comfortable lead heading into the second period.
INNOV9TION??
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 7, 2023
ASU 9 | Arizona 0#BetheTradition /// #ForksUp
it's a SUN DEVIL WIN#BeTheTradition /// #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/NbYD0UYWB9
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 7, 2023
QUOTES
Head coach Greg Powers
In regards to beating U of A:
"Yeah, I mean, it's not, it's never about that. I mean, we said we were gonna play hard, we have to play hard every time we put our jersey on, really credit to those kids. They kept fighting, they're blocking shots down 13 goals and you have to have a ton of respect for those kids on U of A for playing hard until the final horn. We've been there, we've been on the other side of it. It's not fun. But our guys have a responsibility when they put on our jersey to play a certain way and just play a certain way for our fans and they did that tonight. I think they did it in a really respectful way, as respectful as you can see winning 16 to nothing."
On message to team before they played:
"I mean, you know, there's always hope, right? And there's no way that every kid in that team didn't, at least, you know, envision what it would be like to come in here and get a win. The reality is people in Tempe don't care and people in Tucson don't care, they wouldn't care if we were a club team and they were a varsity team. They'd expect U of A to go hard. So, you know, out of respect for that rivalry and out of respect for our university and our fans, we had an obligation to play hard and our guys did. And it's as simple as that."
On what kind of season milestones are ahead for this year that Powers has for the group before joining the NCHC:
"We want to get to the tournament, we've done it technically twice as an independent. So we know what it takes to get there. This is one game at a time focusing on what's in front of us. We have a really tough test next week, and the average college sports fan is probably not gonna know who Merrimack is, but Merrimack is a great college hockey program. That's why they're ranked in the top 15. They're an NCAA tournament team that returned most of their team from last year. They lost in overtime in the hockey finals, so they are very, very good. We're gonna have to be a lot more crisp than we were tonight to have a chance to beat them."