TEMPE -- Back on top of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings, No. 12/12 Arizona State ice hockey (16-9-1, 11-5-0 NCHC) hosts the second series of a home-and-home matchup against the reigning national champions No. 6/6 Denver (19-6-1, 8-5-1 NCHC). Friday's tilt starts at 7 p.m. MST and airs nationally on CBS Sports Network. The series concludes on Saturday at 5 p.m. on NCHC.tv and Fox 10 Xtra. Both games will air over the radio waves on Fox Sports 910 AM.
The commentators for Friday's national broadcast with CBS Sports Network are Dave Starman and Alex Heinert alongside rinkside reporter Shireen Saski. Saturday night's broadcast will feature ASU's own Tyler Paley and Alex Coil.
The first two games of the home-and-home series saw ASU travel to Magness Arena in late November. The Sun Devils handed the Pioneers, who were ranked No. 1 and on a 21-game win streak at the time, their first sweep at home since pre-COVID 2020. Since then, the Sun Devils went on a tear, boasting a 12-2-0 record in their past 14 games, catapulting the Sun Devils to a tie for No. 1 with Western Michigan in the NCHC standings.
SERIES REWIND - CAPTURING THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
Arriving in the Mile High City and with a slow offensive starting to the season, the Sun Devils needed to change the tides. The task would not be easy - their opponent, No. 1 Denver was the reigning national champions whose winning streak dated back 21 consecutive games all the way into March 2024. Despite the David vs. Goliath scenario, the Sun Devils collected two statement wins in what became the highest-ranked program wins and sweep in ASU history. To open the series, Artem Shlaine put up two goals, scoring the game-winning go-ahead with only 45 seconds remaining in regulation. The series-opening victory handed head coach Greg Powers his 300th career win between his ACHA and NCAA careers combined. Shlaine proved to be the Kryptonite for the Pioneers as the graduate center tallied two more goals the following night, including his second game-winner of the weekend, to help ASU complete the series sweep on Saturday with a 5-2 victory. Luke Pavicich stood on his head, making 56 saves out of 60, and posting a .933 save percentage. The Sun Devils handed the Pioneers their first sweep at home since pre-COVID February 2020 after they fell in a series to Minnesota Duluth. In the four years since then, Denver won two national championships (2022 and 2024).
ROAD WARRIORS
ASU continues to set a new program record for the longest road winning streak with six consecutive games. This streak is currently active heading into the upcoming series next week at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 14-15. The previous high was three and reached multiple times over the course of the team's 10-year history. The six game streak dates back to Nov. 22, 2024 and includes ASU's road sweep over then-No. 1 Denver, at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State and at Miami. Over the course of their winning streak, the Sun Devils have scored 30 goals on the road - three more times more than they have scored at Mullett Arena during that timespan.
HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES
Three skaters on the Arizona State hockey team, Ryan Kirwan, Noah Beck and Bennett Schimek were named to the Hobey Baker Memorial Award watchlist as announced by the organization in late January.
NOTABLES CONTINUED
FORWARD OF THE MONTH
Kirwan was dominant in January, tying for the NCAA lead with 11 goals during the month. He tallied 17 points in nine games to start 2025, ranking second in the NCHC and third in the NCAA in January scoring. Kirwan recorded at least a point in eight of his nine January games, with five multi-point games, including a trio of three-point games. The Penn State transfer also scored a goal in six of his nine games, including four multi-goal games. He averaged 1.89 points per game in January, which was third in the NCHC, while his four power play goals led the league last month.
Kirwan opened January by being named MVP of the Desert Hockey Classic after leading ASU to the title with a four-goal, five-point weekend. That included a hat trick against Robert Morris on Jan. 3, which helped him earn the first of two NCHC Forward of the Week nods during the month. Kirwan helped the Sun Devils to a sweep at St. Cloud State on Jan. 17-18 with a three-goal, four-point weekend, including three points in the series opener and the game-winning goal in the finale. The Hobey Baker Award nominee picked up his second Forward of the Week award after five points against Colorado College, including a career-high-tying four points on Jan. 25 in a 5-4 loss. Kirwan stretched his point streak to five games with two power play goals on Jan. 31 in a win at Miami to close out the month.
Kirwan finished the month with a +9 plus/minus, which tied for third in the NCHC, and fired 35 shots on goal, which was second in the conference in January. His 31.4 shooting percentage was also second in the NCHC. Kirwan now leads the NCHC with 18 goals this season, while his 28 points tie for fourth in the conference.
ARTY - THE TWO WAY CENTER
With four points on Friday night at Miami, Artem Shlaine extended his point scoring streak to seven games, which tied for the second-longest point scoring streak in program history. He boasts 16 points during the streak which is the most points in seven consecutive games by a Sun Devil in program history:
Artem Shlaine: 16 points - Jan. 10 - 31, 2025
Robert Mastrosimone: 13 points - Feb. 17 - March 11, 2023
James Sanchez: 12 points - Oct. 18 - Nov. 29, 2019
Tim Lovell: 8 points - Jan. 13 - Feb. 10, 2024
The point streak record is held by Josh Doan with nine goals and 16 points from Feb. 4-March 11, 2023.
Shlaine notched four points from one goal and three assists which ties the single game career high he set at St. Cloud only four games ago.
Shlaine continued his special teams success in January with one power play goal and two shorthanded. He scored his second shorthanded goal of the year at Miami last Friday night. Both of his lamplighters on Saturday vs. North Dakota were scored on special teams - one on the power play and one shorthanded. There are only four skaters in ASU history who have tallied a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the same game (two occurred in 2024-25):
--- Artem Shlaine, vs. No. 14 North Dakota on Jan. 11, 2025 (L, 4-3 OT)
--- Bennett Schimek, vs. Air Force on Oct. 4, 2024 (W, 8-3)
--- Robert Mastrosimone, vs. Michigan Tech on Jan. 6, 2023 (L, 4-2)
--- Josh Maniscalso, vs. Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 9, 2019 (W, 4-0)
Shlaine recorded his third multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career in Saturday's game vs. the Fighting Hawks. He set a single game career high on Saturday night at St. Cloud State with four points from one goal and three assists. Three games later, he reached the feat again with a four-point night at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State (1G, 3A). Shlaine leads the Sun Devils in shot percentage with 27.8 percent. In 20 games played and 26 points this season, Shlaine is over a point per game skater at 1.30 points per game.
At the dot, Shlaine is one of the top faceoff specialists in the NCHC. He is top-10 in the NCHC for faceoff wins with 382 through 20 games played. He has the most wins in the fewest games among all NCHC skaters. His 55.8 percent success rate ranks 11th in the NCHC.
POINT PER GAME DAWGS
On Friday night at Miami, graduate winger
Lukas Sillinger notched two assists within three minutes of a five-minute power play to set a new ASU program record for career assists at 69. The fifth-year forward's career includes two seasons at Bemidji State and three at ASU. His combined career stats spanning 159 NCAA games includes 47 goals and 99 assists. Sixty-nine of his 99 career assists occurred at ASU. The next night, he reached his 100th career assist and 70th at ASU.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
(W) ASU 5 - 2 DU – (Denver, CO), 11/23/2024
(W)ASU 3 - 2 DU – (Denver, CO), 11/22/2024
(L) ASU 4 - 8 DU– (Tempe, AZ), 11/11/2023
(W, OT) ASU 6 - 5 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 11/10/23
(L) ASU 2 - 5 DU – (Denver, CO), 12/3/2022
(L) ASU 2 - 3 DU – (Denver, CO), 12/2/2022
(L) ASU 1 - 7 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/4/2021
(L) ASU 2 - 6 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/3/2021
(L) ASU 3 - 4 DU – (Denver, CO), 10/9/2021
(L) ASU 3 - 8 DDU – (Denver, CO), 10/8/2021
(T)ASU 2 - 2 DU – (Glendale, AZ), 12/7/2019
(W) ASU 4 - 1 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/6/2019
(L) ASU 1 - 6 DU – (Denver, CO), 1/7/2017
(L) ASU 1 - 5 DU – (Denver, CO), 1/6/2017
PUT THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS
ASU has tallied a power play goal in every game since the start of the New Year for 10 games straight. The streak includes 15 goals with a single game high of four PPG at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State on Jan. 18. The goals were tallied by Lukas Sillinger, Noah Beck, Ty Jackson, and Ryan Kirwan. ASU had success on the power play two weeks ago against the Colorado College Tigers penalty kill which ranked ninth in the NCAA with a 85.9 percent success rate going into the weekend. ASU's power play ranks second in the NCAA, behind only Denver, with a 29.6 percent success rate.
THE TWO HEADED MONSTER
Gibson Homer and Luke Pavicich have created the two-headed monster ideal for the grueling schedule in the best conference in college hockey. Homer owns a .920 save percentage and Pavicich boasts a save percentage of.918. The duo is one of only two tandem tendies in the country, alongside the netminders of Western Michigan, to both boast save percentages in the top 25 in the NCAA. Pavicich has earned the nod as of late, winning nine of the last 10 games he appeared in dating back to Nov. 16 vs. Omaha.
JANUARY STARS
Ryan Kirwan's January
The commentators for Friday's national broadcast with CBS Sports Network are Dave Starman and Alex Heinert alongside rinkside reporter Shireen Saski. Saturday night's broadcast will feature ASU's own Tyler Paley and Alex Coil.
The first two games of the home-and-home series saw ASU travel to Magness Arena in late November. The Sun Devils handed the Pioneers, who were ranked No. 1 and on a 21-game win streak at the time, their first sweep at home since pre-COVID 2020. Since then, the Sun Devils went on a tear, boasting a 12-2-0 record in their past 14 games, catapulting the Sun Devils to a tie for No. 1 with Western Michigan in the NCHC standings.
SERIES REWIND - CAPTURING THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
Arriving in the Mile High City and with a slow offensive starting to the season, the Sun Devils needed to change the tides. The task would not be easy - their opponent, No. 1 Denver was the reigning national champions whose winning streak dated back 21 consecutive games all the way into March 2024. Despite the David vs. Goliath scenario, the Sun Devils collected two statement wins in what became the highest-ranked program wins and sweep in ASU history. To open the series, Artem Shlaine put up two goals, scoring the game-winning go-ahead with only 45 seconds remaining in regulation. The series-opening victory handed head coach Greg Powers his 300th career win between his ACHA and NCAA careers combined. Shlaine proved to be the Kryptonite for the Pioneers as the graduate center tallied two more goals the following night, including his second game-winner of the weekend, to help ASU complete the series sweep on Saturday with a 5-2 victory. Luke Pavicich stood on his head, making 56 saves out of 60, and posting a .933 save percentage. The Sun Devils handed the Pioneers their first sweep at home since pre-COVID February 2020 after they fell in a series to Minnesota Duluth. In the four years since then, Denver won two national championships (2022 and 2024).
NO QUIT #BeTheTradition
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 23, 2024
Artem Shlaine with the game-winner over No. 1 Denver pic.twitter.com/vn3TVO5jmw
Player of the game? How about Player of the Week, @TheNCHC? @artem_shlaine is that guy: 4 goal weekend, 2 game-winning, in the home barn of No. 1 Denver ?? pic.twitter.com/edCDOZbae1
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) November 24, 2024
ROAD WARRIORS
ASU continues to set a new program record for the longest road winning streak with six consecutive games. This streak is currently active heading into the upcoming series next week at Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 14-15. The previous high was three and reached multiple times over the course of the team's 10-year history. The six game streak dates back to Nov. 22, 2024 and includes ASU's road sweep over then-No. 1 Denver, at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State and at Miami. Over the course of their winning streak, the Sun Devils have scored 30 goals on the road - three more times more than they have scored at Mullett Arena during that timespan.
HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES
Three skaters on the Arizona State hockey team, Ryan Kirwan, Noah Beck and Bennett Schimek were named to the Hobey Baker Memorial Award watchlist as announced by the organization in late January.
NOTABLES CONTINUED
- In the two-game series at Miami last weekend, ASU tallied 11 goals between a seven-goal night on Friday and a four-goal night on Saturday. As an example of ASU's depth, the 11 goals were scored by 10 different players. The only skater to notch two goals on the weekend was Ryan Kirwan who collected both on a five-minute major power play on Friday night.
- The Sun Devil goal-scoring offense has been red hot since the New Year, 48 of its 95 goals this season in the month of January. ASU's 95 goals on the season ranks seventh in the NCAA. The Sun Devils tallied four or more goals in eight of nine games played in January. The ASU fire power bumped ASU's goals per game average on the season through 24 games played to 3.65 which is fourth-most in the NCAA
- After not allowing more than four goals against through 23 games, the dam broke on ASU on Saturday night against Colorado College as the Tigers were able to tally five goals against the Sun Devils. It was the first time that ASU allowed five-plus goals against since competing against then-No. 2 Denver on Nov. 11, 2023.
- ASU leads the NCHC in players with hat tricks. No other NCHC team has had two hat tricks this season. ASU recorded hat tricks from Kirwan and Schimek.
- ASU is now 15-2-0 when scoring the first goal of the game, 9-2-0 when leading after one period, and 12-1-0 when leading after two periods. The only loss after leading through two periods was vs. Colorado College two weeks ago.
- ASU has tallied shorthanded goals in four of the last four series. Scored by Ethan Szmagaj vs. Colorado College, Artem Shlaine vs. North Dakota, Bennett Schimek at Miami, and Artem Shlaine at Miami. Schimek's shorthanded goal on Friday night at Miami was his third shortie of the season, giving him the NCHC lead for SHG. The mark also ties for first in the country. ASU's seven SHG this season ranks second in the NCAA.
FORWARD OF THE MONTH
Kirwan was dominant in January, tying for the NCAA lead with 11 goals during the month. He tallied 17 points in nine games to start 2025, ranking second in the NCHC and third in the NCAA in January scoring. Kirwan recorded at least a point in eight of his nine January games, with five multi-point games, including a trio of three-point games. The Penn State transfer also scored a goal in six of his nine games, including four multi-goal games. He averaged 1.89 points per game in January, which was third in the NCHC, while his four power play goals led the league last month.
Kirwan opened January by being named MVP of the Desert Hockey Classic after leading ASU to the title with a four-goal, five-point weekend. That included a hat trick against Robert Morris on Jan. 3, which helped him earn the first of two NCHC Forward of the Week nods during the month. Kirwan helped the Sun Devils to a sweep at St. Cloud State on Jan. 17-18 with a three-goal, four-point weekend, including three points in the series opener and the game-winning goal in the finale. The Hobey Baker Award nominee picked up his second Forward of the Week award after five points against Colorado College, including a career-high-tying four points on Jan. 25 in a 5-4 loss. Kirwan stretched his point streak to five games with two power play goals on Jan. 31 in a win at Miami to close out the month.
Kirwan finished the month with a +9 plus/minus, which tied for third in the NCHC, and fired 35 shots on goal, which was second in the conference in January. His 31.4 shooting percentage was also second in the NCHC. Kirwan now leads the NCHC with 18 goals this season, while his 28 points tie for fourth in the conference.
ARTY - THE TWO WAY CENTER
With four points on Friday night at Miami, Artem Shlaine extended his point scoring streak to seven games, which tied for the second-longest point scoring streak in program history. He boasts 16 points during the streak which is the most points in seven consecutive games by a Sun Devil in program history:
Artem Shlaine: 16 points - Jan. 10 - 31, 2025
Robert Mastrosimone: 13 points - Feb. 17 - March 11, 2023
James Sanchez: 12 points - Oct. 18 - Nov. 29, 2019
Tim Lovell: 8 points - Jan. 13 - Feb. 10, 2024
The point streak record is held by Josh Doan with nine goals and 16 points from Feb. 4-March 11, 2023.
Shlaine notched four points from one goal and three assists which ties the single game career high he set at St. Cloud only four games ago.
Shlaine continued his special teams success in January with one power play goal and two shorthanded. He scored his second shorthanded goal of the year at Miami last Friday night. Both of his lamplighters on Saturday vs. North Dakota were scored on special teams - one on the power play and one shorthanded. There are only four skaters in ASU history who have tallied a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the same game (two occurred in 2024-25):
--- Artem Shlaine, vs. No. 14 North Dakota on Jan. 11, 2025 (L, 4-3 OT)
--- Bennett Schimek, vs. Air Force on Oct. 4, 2024 (W, 8-3)
--- Robert Mastrosimone, vs. Michigan Tech on Jan. 6, 2023 (L, 4-2)
--- Josh Maniscalso, vs. Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 9, 2019 (W, 4-0)
Shlaine recorded his third multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career in Saturday's game vs. the Fighting Hawks. He set a single game career high on Saturday night at St. Cloud State with four points from one goal and three assists. Three games later, he reached the feat again with a four-point night at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State (1G, 3A). Shlaine leads the Sun Devils in shot percentage with 27.8 percent. In 20 games played and 26 points this season, Shlaine is over a point per game skater at 1.30 points per game.
At the dot, Shlaine is one of the top faceoff specialists in the NCHC. He is top-10 in the NCHC for faceoff wins with 382 through 20 games played. He has the most wins in the fewest games among all NCHC skaters. His 55.8 percent success rate ranks 11th in the NCHC.
POINT PER GAME DAWGS
- After missing the first six games to a preseason injury, Artem Shlaine wasted no time in taking up space at the top of ASU's scorers list. The graduate center leads the ASU team in points per game with a 1.30 average through 20 games played (10G, 16A). He notched 16 points in the past 10 games including competition against four ranked teams.
- Ryan Kirwan boasts a 1.08 points per game average. He tallied 17 points through 10 games of 2025 so far.
- Bennett Schimek boasts a 1.08 points per game with 26 points through 24 games plated (9G, 17A)
- Lukas Sillinger jumped into the point per game pool after a four-point series at Miami last weekend. The graduate winger boasts a 1.04 point per game average through 24 games played
On Friday night at Miami, graduate winger
Lukas Sillinger notched two assists within three minutes of a five-minute power play to set a new ASU program record for career assists at 69. The fifth-year forward's career includes two seasons at Bemidji State and three at ASU. His combined career stats spanning 159 NCAA games includes 47 goals and 99 assists. Sixty-nine of his 99 career assists occurred at ASU. The next night, he reached his 100th career assist and 70th at ASU.
CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
- Sillinger is three points away from 150 career points split between five years between Bemidji State and Arizona State. He is also five games away from his 100th at ASU after surpassing his 150th NCAA in early January.
- Shlaine is six games away from 150 in the NCAA
- The next game that Noah Beck competes in will be his 150th NCAA game
- Ryan Kirwan is three points away from 100 NCAA career points
- Bennett Schimek is five games away from his 100th NCAA appearance
(W) ASU 5 - 2 DU – (Denver, CO), 11/23/2024
(W)ASU 3 - 2 DU – (Denver, CO), 11/22/2024
(L) ASU 4 - 8 DU– (Tempe, AZ), 11/11/2023
(W, OT) ASU 6 - 5 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 11/10/23
(L) ASU 2 - 5 DU – (Denver, CO), 12/3/2022
(L) ASU 2 - 3 DU – (Denver, CO), 12/2/2022
(L) ASU 1 - 7 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/4/2021
(L) ASU 2 - 6 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/3/2021
(L) ASU 3 - 4 DU – (Denver, CO), 10/9/2021
(L) ASU 3 - 8 DDU – (Denver, CO), 10/8/2021
(T)ASU 2 - 2 DU – (Glendale, AZ), 12/7/2019
(W) ASU 4 - 1 DU – (Tempe, AZ), 12/6/2019
(L) ASU 1 - 6 DU – (Denver, CO), 1/7/2017
(L) ASU 1 - 5 DU – (Denver, CO), 1/6/2017
PUT THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS
ASU has tallied a power play goal in every game since the start of the New Year for 10 games straight. The streak includes 15 goals with a single game high of four PPG at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State on Jan. 18. The goals were tallied by Lukas Sillinger, Noah Beck, Ty Jackson, and Ryan Kirwan. ASU had success on the power play two weeks ago against the Colorado College Tigers penalty kill which ranked ninth in the NCAA with a 85.9 percent success rate going into the weekend. ASU's power play ranks second in the NCAA, behind only Denver, with a 29.6 percent success rate.
THE TWO HEADED MONSTER
Gibson Homer and Luke Pavicich have created the two-headed monster ideal for the grueling schedule in the best conference in college hockey. Homer owns a .920 save percentage and Pavicich boasts a save percentage of.918. The duo is one of only two tandem tendies in the country, alongside the netminders of Western Michigan, to both boast save percentages in the top 25 in the NCAA. Pavicich has earned the nod as of late, winning nine of the last 10 games he appeared in dating back to Nov. 16 vs. Omaha.
JANUARY STARS
Ryan Kirwan's January
- Stole the overall season conference lead for goals, tallied the most goals by an NCHC skater in January
- His 4PPG outpaced all other NCHC skaters in the month of January
- Tallied four multigoal games in the month of January, including a hat trick against Robert Morris
- Scored two power play goals within three minutes at Miami (7-1 win)
- Set a new single game career high for PPG
- His 4-point night vs. Colorado College tied his single game high
- Nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award
- Tallied the game-winning goal at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State to secure the road series sweep
- This month Kirwan outpaced his previous season high for points (26) with his 28th point of the year
- Won the Desert Hockey Classic MVP for a five-point weekend vs. Robert Morris and Cornell (4G, 1A)
- Scored the most goals per minute of TOI in the NCAA
- Shot percentage at 22 percent which is highest among top five scorers
- Shlaine led all NCHC skaters in points tallied in the first month of the year with 18 (5G, 13A)
- His 13 assists also ranked first in the NCHC
- His two shorthanded goals (scored vs. North Dakota and at Miami) led all skaters in the NCHC
- +11 plus/minus ranked first in the NCHC
- Led the NCHC in faceoff wins with 93 through nine games played for an average 10.33 wins per game