TEMPE – The No. 19 Arizona State hockey team (6-7-1, 3-3-0 NCHC) hosts conference foe Minnesota Duluth (5-8-0, 2-4-0 NCHC) on December 6-7. ASU returns to Mullett Arena looking to build on the road success with the sweep of unanimous No. 1 Denver two weeks ago. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST on Friday and 5 p.m. MST on Saturday.
Friday's tilt will air locally on Fox 10 Xtra and stream on NCHC.tv. Saturday's game streams on NCHC.tv. The entire series is available over the airwaves on FoxSports910.
Saturday's game is the first Teddy Bear Toss for ASU in Mullett Arena. Fans are encouraged to bring new teddy bears to toss for donation to Phoenix Children's Hospital.
ASU is tied for second in the NCHC conference standings with 10 points through six conference games. ASU was swept by CC on the road, but earned one conference point through an overtime loss. The next weekend ASU tallied three points with a win over Omaha. Then team claimed six points in the weekend sweep of then-No. 1 Denver two weeks ago.
"We are in the same boat as they are, they had last week off, these are the last two games. Everybody wants to head into the break feeling good… We've already had two weeks off in the first semester, they both came at great times, especially with how banged up we've been. Now heading into the break, our guys have nothing to save anything for so we're looking to get points and continue to climb the standings and hopefully we do that this weekend," said head coach Greg Powers.
NOTABLES
BREAKOUT STARS
ASU is first in the country in breakout success, including breakouts that reach the offensive zone. ASU is third in the NCAA in successful stretch passes.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs and Sun Devils only met once before during a two-game series in Duluth in October 2022. The showdown was UMD's home opener and the Bulldogs came away with a series sweep. The Bulldogs were the last NCHC team that the Sun Devils played in program history (first meeting in 2022).
LAST MEETING
ASU set the pace in game one, scoring the opening goal on the power play in the first period and lit the lamp again only one minute into the third period. UMD rallied after ASU's momentum and repeatedly tied the score, pushing the season opener to overtime. The Bulldogs ultimately claimed the win in 3-on-3 sudden death overtime as the Sun Devils fell 3-2. On Saturday night, UMD secured a 4-1 win over ASU. Graduate forward Demetrios Koumontzis tallied the sole goal with assists from Chris Grando and Ethan Szmagaj.
PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1
Graduate center Artem Shlaine was the shot in the arm for ASU right when the Sun Devils' needed it. The Northern Michigan transfer put up four goals on the road at No. 1 Denver two weeks ago. Shlaine was late to the scene in 2024-25 after a preseason injury forced him to miss the first six games of the year. Over his five seasons in college hockey, Shlaine had four multi-goal games, two of which occurred at No. 1 Denver on the weekend of Nov. 22-23, 2024. Shlaine's enjoyed 16 multipoint games in his career and his teams are 15-1-0 when he accomplished the feat. Shlaine is sixth in the NCAA in loose puck recoveries in the defensive zone per 60 minutes. A proven faceoff specialist, Shlaine is 11-0 in faceoff wins this season in the offensive zone. He leads the team in faceoff percentage (minimum 80 chances) with 88 wins to 67 losses (.568 success rate).
THIRD LINE MAGIC
The line centered by Shlaine and flanked by Ryan Alexander and Kyle Smolen controls 65 percent of ASU chances this season.
PAVICICH PUTS UP HOT MONTH
Luke Pavicich has made five of the last starts for the Sun Devils and boasts a 3-2 record in that span. He made 111 saves in the month of November against two top-20 ranked teams. The netminder boasts a 2.26 goals against average and .914 save percentage. At DU two weeks ago, Pavicich saved nearly two goals above average over the expected.
Friday's tilt will air locally on Fox 10 Xtra and stream on NCHC.tv. Saturday's game streams on NCHC.tv. The entire series is available over the airwaves on FoxSports910.
Saturday's game is the first Teddy Bear Toss for ASU in Mullett Arena. Fans are encouraged to bring new teddy bears to toss for donation to Phoenix Children's Hospital.
ASU is tied for second in the NCHC conference standings with 10 points through six conference games. ASU was swept by CC on the road, but earned one conference point through an overtime loss. The next weekend ASU tallied three points with a win over Omaha. Then team claimed six points in the weekend sweep of then-No. 1 Denver two weeks ago.
"We are in the same boat as they are, they had last week off, these are the last two games. Everybody wants to head into the break feeling good… We've already had two weeks off in the first semester, they both came at great times, especially with how banged up we've been. Now heading into the break, our guys have nothing to save anything for so we're looking to get points and continue to climb the standings and hopefully we do that this weekend," said head coach Greg Powers.
NOTABLES
- Saturday's tilt at Denver became the first time this season that ASU won the game after an opponent scored first. Before the match, ASU was 0-5-1 when the opposing team tallied the first goal. It was also the first time this season that ASU won the game after trailing after the first period
- ASU is now 3-0-0 when leading after two periods
- Victory at DU on Friday was the first win when allowing between 30-39 shots on net
- Benji Eckerle had his first career two-assist night on Saturday at DU
- Ryan Alexander had a three-assist weekend at DU
- Several skaters got back into the scoring action after a few weeks without a lamp lighter. Cullen Potter scored his first goal since the Saturday night tilt against No. 10 Michigan, Bennett Schimek tallied his first since Northern Michigan (five games ago) and Noah Beck joined the action after last scoring at then-No. 8 Colorado College (three games)
- ASU is ranked 19 for the second-straight week after jumping back in the polls following a series sweep of then-No. 1 Denver
BREAKOUT STARS
ASU is first in the country in breakout success, including breakouts that reach the offensive zone. ASU is third in the NCAA in successful stretch passes.
LAST TIME OUT
- On Friday night at DU, ASU had an 85% success rate on first touch exits from the d-zone. No ASU skater averaged over 50-second shifts for the first time this season. It was also the first night of the season that DU was out-chanced.
- ASU completed the shocking series sweep of the unanimous No. 1-ranked Denver (12-2-0, 2-2-0) with five goals from four different skaters at Magness Arena on Nov. 23. The night before, ASU defeated DU to break its 21-game win streak and earn ASU's highest ranked win in program history. It was the first win for ASU in Denver ever.
- Graduate center Artem Shlaine completed a four-goal weekend with two on Friday and two on Saturday night. He was credited with the game-winning goals in both contests against the unanimous number one team in the country.
The Bulldogs and Sun Devils only met once before during a two-game series in Duluth in October 2022. The showdown was UMD's home opener and the Bulldogs came away with a series sweep. The Bulldogs were the last NCHC team that the Sun Devils played in program history (first meeting in 2022).
LAST MEETING
ASU set the pace in game one, scoring the opening goal on the power play in the first period and lit the lamp again only one minute into the third period. UMD rallied after ASU's momentum and repeatedly tied the score, pushing the season opener to overtime. The Bulldogs ultimately claimed the win in 3-on-3 sudden death overtime as the Sun Devils fell 3-2. On Saturday night, UMD secured a 4-1 win over ASU. Graduate forward Demetrios Koumontzis tallied the sole goal with assists from Chris Grando and Ethan Szmagaj.
PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1
Graduate center Artem Shlaine was the shot in the arm for ASU right when the Sun Devils' needed it. The Northern Michigan transfer put up four goals on the road at No. 1 Denver two weeks ago. Shlaine was late to the scene in 2024-25 after a preseason injury forced him to miss the first six games of the year. Over his five seasons in college hockey, Shlaine had four multi-goal games, two of which occurred at No. 1 Denver on the weekend of Nov. 22-23, 2024. Shlaine's enjoyed 16 multipoint games in his career and his teams are 15-1-0 when he accomplished the feat. Shlaine is sixth in the NCAA in loose puck recoveries in the defensive zone per 60 minutes. A proven faceoff specialist, Shlaine is 11-0 in faceoff wins this season in the offensive zone. He leads the team in faceoff percentage (minimum 80 chances) with 88 wins to 67 losses (.568 success rate).
THIRD LINE MAGIC
The line centered by Shlaine and flanked by Ryan Alexander and Kyle Smolen controls 65 percent of ASU chances this season.
PAVICICH PUTS UP HOT MONTH
Luke Pavicich has made five of the last starts for the Sun Devils and boasts a 3-2 record in that span. He made 111 saves in the month of November against two top-20 ranked teams. The netminder boasts a 2.26 goals against average and .914 save percentage. At DU two weeks ago, Pavicich saved nearly two goals above average over the expected.