ANCHORAGE – On the hunt for a 25-win season, the Arizona State hockey team (23-7-6) returns to State 49 for the second time in two weeks to complete the home-and-home series with Alaska Anchorage (14-16-2). The two-game series this weekend, Friday, March 8 at 9:07 p.m. MST and Saturday, March 9 at 7:07 p.m. MST, completes ASU's 2023-24 regular season.
Fans can stream both games on UAA's free YouTube channel and listen in on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey Radio.
The two teams met this past November at Mullett Arena. The Sun Devils came away with a series sweep of the Seawolves, 4-2 and 3-0. The shutout was credited to ASU netminder TJ Semptimphelter - the seventh of his collegiate career.
ASU is 10-1-1 against fellow independents this season, including 5-1-0 against teams from the state of Alaska. ASU owns the all-time record against UAA dating back to 2015, 7-2-0
After setting a new record for program wins on Saturday night in the 4-3 victory over Long Island, the Sun Devils look to continue extending that mark through the final two games of the regular season. The 2019-20 Sun Devil squad held the previous record at 22 wins.
Players to watch this weekend include Lukas Sillinger who will look to break the ASU single season record for points. Last weekend he tied the record set by Robert Mastrosimone (22-23) at 42. Matthew Kopperud aims to continue his climb up the leaderboard of the NCAA's all-time career power play goal scoring list. He currently ranks fifth in history with 39 PPG in his four seasons as a Sun Devil.
TOP IN THE COUNTRY
The ASU team continues to rank among the top in the country in numerous categories:
With the NCAA Tournament and Pairwise chase off of the table for the 2023-24 season, the team set its sights on accomplishing a new goal: the most wins in a single season in program history. Last weekend against Long Island, the team broke the record which was held by the 2019-20 squad who accomplished a 22-win season before the season was ultimately cut short due to Covid-19. The ASU squad now boasts a 23-win season which is fourth-most in the NCAA.
SEVEN POINTS SILLY
Winger Lukas Sillinger is finishing his senior season strong, with seven points in the last three games. On Friday night vs. LIU he broke the program record for most single season assists after notching his 32 of the year. The next night, he tacked on three more for 35 apples. He is currently tied with Robert Mastrosimone for most points in a single season in ASU history at 42.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its 21st-straight week in the national polls. Polls placed the Sun Devils at No. 18 after their series against Lindenwood. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
RECORD CHASE
Gibson Homer continued to stand out in his sixth consecutive start over Senior Weekend last weekend. He reached 13 games played on the year and boasts a 1.87 goals against average and .934 save percentage complete with a 8-2-2 record. With his 13th game out of ASU's 36 played so far this season, Homer's stats finally entered the NCAA field as he's officially played 33 percent of the team's games. He now leads the country in save percentage and ranks second in goals against average.
Fans can stream both games on UAA's free YouTube channel and listen in on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey Radio.
The two teams met this past November at Mullett Arena. The Sun Devils came away with a series sweep of the Seawolves, 4-2 and 3-0. The shutout was credited to ASU netminder TJ Semptimphelter - the seventh of his collegiate career.
ASU is 10-1-1 against fellow independents this season, including 5-1-0 against teams from the state of Alaska. ASU owns the all-time record against UAA dating back to 2015, 7-2-0
After setting a new record for program wins on Saturday night in the 4-3 victory over Long Island, the Sun Devils look to continue extending that mark through the final two games of the regular season. The 2019-20 Sun Devil squad held the previous record at 22 wins.
Players to watch this weekend include Lukas Sillinger who will look to break the ASU single season record for points. Last weekend he tied the record set by Robert Mastrosimone (22-23) at 42. Matthew Kopperud aims to continue his climb up the leaderboard of the NCAA's all-time career power play goal scoring list. He currently ranks fifth in history with 39 PPG in his four seasons as a Sun Devil.
TOP IN THE COUNTRY
The ASU team continues to rank among the top in the country in numerous categories:
- No. 3: ASU has the third-fewest losses in the NCAA at 7. Only No. 1 Boston College (5) and No. 13 Cornell (6) have fewer losses this season.
- No. 4: ASU has scored 37 power play goals in 36 games
- Tied-No. 4: ASU's 23 wins is tied for third-best in the country and ranks third overall for best winning percentage (.722)
- No 5: Power play unit converts at a 26.1 percent success rate
- Tied-No. 11: ASU boasts one of the smallest goals against average in the country at 2.44
- No. 12: ASU has scored 121 goals in 36 games so far this season with an average of 3.36 goals per game
- No. 1: After 13 appearances this season, Gibson Homer's .934 save percentage leads the country. His 1.87 goals against average is second in the NCAA.
- No. 1: Matthew Kopperud's power play goals continues to lead the NCAA with 15 this season.
- Tied-No. 1: Matthew Kopperud has a knack for scoring game-winning goals in 2023-24. The senior has scored eight GWG through his 36 games played.
- Tied-No. 2: Lukas Sillinger tallied 35 assists is two shy of the nation lead. Last weekend he broke the single season record for most assists in a season set by Robert Mastrosimone in 2022-23.
- No. 4: Brandon Tabakin's +28 plus/minus ranks 4th in the country.
- No. 8: Matthew Kopperud's 21 goals is tied for eighth. Fifteen of his goals are on the power play.
- No. 9: Tim Lovell notched 30 assists and continues to extend his program record setting mark for most assists in a single season by a defenseman.
- No. 10: TJ Semptimphelter holds the 10th spot in the NCAA for goaltender winning percentage at .708 (15-5-4)
- No. 12: Lukas Sillinger's 42 points on the year is tied for 12th. He boasts a 1.17 points per game through 36 played.
- No. 14: Brian Chambers won 357 faceoffs this season, ranked 14th in the NCAA.
With the NCAA Tournament and Pairwise chase off of the table for the 2023-24 season, the team set its sights on accomplishing a new goal: the most wins in a single season in program history. Last weekend against Long Island, the team broke the record which was held by the 2019-20 squad who accomplished a 22-win season before the season was ultimately cut short due to Covid-19. The ASU squad now boasts a 23-win season which is fourth-most in the NCAA.
SEVEN POINTS SILLY
Winger Lukas Sillinger is finishing his senior season strong, with seven points in the last three games. On Friday night vs. LIU he broke the program record for most single season assists after notching his 32 of the year. The next night, he tacked on three more for 35 apples. He is currently tied with Robert Mastrosimone for most points in a single season in ASU history at 42.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its 21st-straight week in the national polls. Polls placed the Sun Devils at No. 18 after their series against Lindenwood. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
RECORD CHASE
- Tim Lovell is three points away from breaking the individual single-season record for most points by a defenseman. Sun Devil alum Brinson Pasichnuk set the record at 37 points in the 2019-20 season.
- Tim Lovell currently sits at the No. 2 spot for all-time career assists and assists by a defenseman with 63.
- Matthew Kopperud has 21 goals so far this season and is three away from breaking Johnny Walker's record for most in a single season at 23. Kopperud is eight goals away from breaking the all-time career goals record currently set at 70, also by Walker.
Gibson Homer continued to stand out in his sixth consecutive start over Senior Weekend last weekend. He reached 13 games played on the year and boasts a 1.87 goals against average and .934 save percentage complete with a 8-2-2 record. With his 13th game out of ASU's 36 played so far this season, Homer's stats finally entered the NCAA field as he's officially played 33 percent of the team's games. He now leads the country in save percentage and ranks second in goals against average.