TEMPE -- The No. 16/17 Arizona State Sun Devils will faceoff against the No. 2/2 Denver Pioneers in the desert this weekend for their sixth meeting in program history. Head coach Greg Powers and the team look to continue the magic in Mullett and remain undefeated on home ice. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. MST on Friday and 5 p.m. MST on Saturday. Fans can watch the free ASU Live Stream or listen on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
The Sun Devils (6-1-1) host the Pioneers (6-1-1) after competing at Denver last December when DU took the series sweep at Magness Arena, 3-2 and 5-2, moving the all-time record between the schools to 1-8-1. ASU looks to close the record gap as they come off of a third-straight series sweep at home against Stonehill this past weekend.
KRAZY FOR KOPPERUD
The long-awaited return of Matthew Kopperud is finally upon Sun Devil Hockey. The senior leads the country in game-winning goals with four. His hot start and seven career game-winning goals has boosted him to just one shy of Johnny Walker's record for most career GWG with eight. On Saturday night against Northern Michigan, Kopperud scored his 26th career power play goal to break the ASU record also set by ASU alum Johnny Walker (2017-22) at 25. His fifth goal this season, scored on Saturday night against Stonehill, became his 80 career point (46G, 34A).
POWERED UP POWER PLAY
The Sun Devils boast a 23.7 power play percentage through the first eight games, which ranks 12th among all NCAA Division I teams. ASU's nine power play goals is tied at fifth in the country. Skaters Matthew Kopperud and Anthony Dowd lead the power play point scoring for the maroon and gold. Kopperud tallied three goals and two assists for five points on the man-advatnage while freshman Dowd notched five assists.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its fourth-straight week in the national polls. Last week, ASU came in at No. 16 and No. 19 in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live, respectively. After remaining undefeated at home, the Sun Devils made the biggest jump of all poll teams from No. 18 to No. 13 heading into the series with Miami. After going 0-1-1 on their first road trip, the Sun Devils fell back a few spots to No. 16 and No. 19. Following the series sweep of Stonehill at home, ASU held strong at No. 16 in the USCHO.com Poll and moved up two spots to No. 17 in the USA Hockey Poll. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
THE UNDISPUTED CAPTAIN
Unknown to many Sun Devil fans could be the ninth captain in Sun Devil Hockey history: Tyler Gratton. The graduate transfer joins the ASU roster for his fifth and final year of college eligibility and was unanimously named captain, as voted on by players and staff in September. In previous seasons, the captains group was appointed by head coach Greg Powers and his assistant coaches. This time around, Powers put the power in the players hands, giving the team a vote on the leadership group. Gratton was unanimously voted as captain for the 2023-24 season. He is accompanied by alternate captains (also voted on by the players and staff): Matthew Kopperud, Lukas Sillinger, Ryan O'Reilly, and Ethan Szmagaj.
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
The Sun Devil netminders boast the sixth-best goals against average in NCAA at 2.1 through eight games. ASU fans saw their first look at Gibson Homer (2-0-1)at Miami and at home against Stonehill last weekend. The tandem netminder pair of standout TJ Semptimphelter (4-1-0) and rookie Homer put up 100 combined saves.
CHECK CHAMBERS
Graduate center Brian Chambers has quickly become a crucial playmaker in the Sun Devils' offense. The Massachusetts native is ranked 15th in faceoff wins in the country and leads the team in faceoff percentage at .546. He is tied with Matthew Kopperud for the ASU team lead in points at eight - for a point per game average. His seven assists through eight games leads all Sun Devil skaters and he boasts a +5 plus/minus. Chambers tallied his second career three-point night against Stonehill on Nov. 2, 2023 at Mullett Arena (1G, 2A).
FIRST TIMERS
Last weekend held plenty of firsts for several ASU players, including freshman Cole Gordon, who scored his first NCAA career goal on a short-handed breakaway. It was ASU's first short-handed goal since Chris Grando against then- No. 17 Minnesota State on Jan. 14, 2023. Tucker Ness also logged his first point of the season with an assist on Tyler Gratton's opening goal Friday night. Junior transfer Cade Alami and freshman Cole Helm also made their first appearances for their Sun Devils.
THIRD PERIOD SURGE
The Sun Devils found themselves down 4-1 early in the third period on Friday night against Stonehill, but rallied through four unanswered goals to clinch the overtime game-winner and 5-4 victory. The late onslaught at the hands of the Devils has become customary this season as 11 goals have been scored in the third period combined to 13 in the first and second combined. ASU has allowed only six goals in the final frame.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head coach Greg Powers on preparing for Denver:
"You don't really change too much. We worry about us. We have a lot of focus on ourselves. We know how Denver plays. We have played them a lot, we've played them almost more than anybody. We know how good they are offensively, how active they are in the offensive zone. So, there's some things we're working on to prepare for that but really we're just focused on us. You have to take care of the puck, going against teams like this. If you handle the puck they way we did last weekend, then we stand no chance."
Defenseman Ty Murchison on series against Stonehill and Denver:
"I think it was a bit of a wake up call. Just going into every game with that mindset of its a game seven as an independent. Obviously, I think the guys will be really prepared for Denver this weekend and I have no doubt we'll be ready to go."
The Sun Devils (6-1-1) host the Pioneers (6-1-1) after competing at Denver last December when DU took the series sweep at Magness Arena, 3-2 and 5-2, moving the all-time record between the schools to 1-8-1. ASU looks to close the record gap as they come off of a third-straight series sweep at home against Stonehill this past weekend.
KRAZY FOR KOPPERUD
The long-awaited return of Matthew Kopperud is finally upon Sun Devil Hockey. The senior leads the country in game-winning goals with four. His hot start and seven career game-winning goals has boosted him to just one shy of Johnny Walker's record for most career GWG with eight. On Saturday night against Northern Michigan, Kopperud scored his 26th career power play goal to break the ASU record also set by ASU alum Johnny Walker (2017-22) at 25. His fifth goal this season, scored on Saturday night against Stonehill, became his 80 career point (46G, 34A).
POWERED UP POWER PLAY
The Sun Devils boast a 23.7 power play percentage through the first eight games, which ranks 12th among all NCAA Division I teams. ASU's nine power play goals is tied at fifth in the country. Skaters Matthew Kopperud and Anthony Dowd lead the power play point scoring for the maroon and gold. Kopperud tallied three goals and two assists for five points on the man-advatnage while freshman Dowd notched five assists.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its fourth-straight week in the national polls. Last week, ASU came in at No. 16 and No. 19 in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live, respectively. After remaining undefeated at home, the Sun Devils made the biggest jump of all poll teams from No. 18 to No. 13 heading into the series with Miami. After going 0-1-1 on their first road trip, the Sun Devils fell back a few spots to No. 16 and No. 19. Following the series sweep of Stonehill at home, ASU held strong at No. 16 in the USCHO.com Poll and moved up two spots to No. 17 in the USA Hockey Poll. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
THE UNDISPUTED CAPTAIN
Unknown to many Sun Devil fans could be the ninth captain in Sun Devil Hockey history: Tyler Gratton. The graduate transfer joins the ASU roster for his fifth and final year of college eligibility and was unanimously named captain, as voted on by players and staff in September. In previous seasons, the captains group was appointed by head coach Greg Powers and his assistant coaches. This time around, Powers put the power in the players hands, giving the team a vote on the leadership group. Gratton was unanimously voted as captain for the 2023-24 season. He is accompanied by alternate captains (also voted on by the players and staff): Matthew Kopperud, Lukas Sillinger, Ryan O'Reilly, and Ethan Szmagaj.
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
The Sun Devil netminders boast the sixth-best goals against average in NCAA at 2.1 through eight games. ASU fans saw their first look at Gibson Homer (2-0-1)at Miami and at home against Stonehill last weekend. The tandem netminder pair of standout TJ Semptimphelter (4-1-0) and rookie Homer put up 100 combined saves.
CHECK CHAMBERS
Graduate center Brian Chambers has quickly become a crucial playmaker in the Sun Devils' offense. The Massachusetts native is ranked 15th in faceoff wins in the country and leads the team in faceoff percentage at .546. He is tied with Matthew Kopperud for the ASU team lead in points at eight - for a point per game average. His seven assists through eight games leads all Sun Devil skaters and he boasts a +5 plus/minus. Chambers tallied his second career three-point night against Stonehill on Nov. 2, 2023 at Mullett Arena (1G, 2A).
FIRST TIMERS
Last weekend held plenty of firsts for several ASU players, including freshman Cole Gordon, who scored his first NCAA career goal on a short-handed breakaway. It was ASU's first short-handed goal since Chris Grando against then- No. 17 Minnesota State on Jan. 14, 2023. Tucker Ness also logged his first point of the season with an assist on Tyler Gratton's opening goal Friday night. Junior transfer Cade Alami and freshman Cole Helm also made their first appearances for their Sun Devils.
THIRD PERIOD SURGE
The Sun Devils found themselves down 4-1 early in the third period on Friday night against Stonehill, but rallied through four unanswered goals to clinch the overtime game-winner and 5-4 victory. The late onslaught at the hands of the Devils has become customary this season as 11 goals have been scored in the third period combined to 13 in the first and second combined. ASU has allowed only six goals in the final frame.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head coach Greg Powers on preparing for Denver:
"You don't really change too much. We worry about us. We have a lot of focus on ourselves. We know how Denver plays. We have played them a lot, we've played them almost more than anybody. We know how good they are offensively, how active they are in the offensive zone. So, there's some things we're working on to prepare for that but really we're just focused on us. You have to take care of the puck, going against teams like this. If you handle the puck they way we did last weekend, then we stand no chance."
Defenseman Ty Murchison on series against Stonehill and Denver:
"I think it was a bit of a wake up call. Just going into every game with that mindset of its a game seven as an independent. Obviously, I think the guys will be really prepared for Denver this weekend and I have no doubt we'll be ready to go."