#15 Hockey embarks on the first road trip of the season to Augustana

TEMPE – No. 15 Sun Devil Hockey (2-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) will kick off its first road trip of the season to face the Augustana Vikings (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) on Oct. 17-18. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. MST and 4 p.m. MST on Saturday.

Tune In:
Fans can tune in to both games of the series which will be aired locally on FOX 10 Xtra and can be streamed on Midco Sports Plus which requires a subscription. The radio broadcast will be available over the local airwaves on Fox Sports 910 featuring Tyler Paley and Alex Coil.  

Last time out:
As hosts of the 29th annual Ice Breaker Tournament and making their inaugural appearance in the tournament, ASU took home the trophy going 2-0 on the weekend, earning victories against Notre Dame and Alaska-Fairbanks. 

Offensively, the Sun Devils scored ten goals between the two games played, five of those scored while on the power play throughout the match. Captain and junior center Kyle Smolen reached 50 career points during the tournament. While senior goaltender Connor Hasley secured his first win as a Sun Devil against Alaska-Fairbanks. 

Tale of the Tape vs. Augustana: (1-1-0)
This series will mark only the second time the Sun Devils and Vikings have competed against one another. The last time Augustana and ASU faced off was at Mullett Arena in 2024, where the teams split the series after a 3-2 ASU win on Jan. 20, 2024.

The Vikings opened their season last week with a split against Minnesota Duluth, capping off the weekend with their first victory in a 4-0 shutout win. Between the pipes, junior Josh Kotai registered 40 saves for his fourth career shutout. In the victory, forward Hunter Bischoff scored a pair of goals and is one of three members to have two points for the Vikings.

Last season, Kotai recorded 12 goals saved above expectation to place within the top-15 in that category. Kotai is picking up right where he left off with 73 saves and just four goals allowed. 

“It’s going to be a hard-fought series, and we’re gonna go up there and give it our best.” said head coach Greg Powers. “We just gotta go do what we have to do, stack wins, and get better every weekend.”
 
Quick Hits:

• Co-Captain Bennett Schimek leads the team with five points through four games and has an assist in the last three contests for the first time in his collegiate career.
• The Sun Devils rank second in the nation in power play goals with six this season, only behind Michigan’s eight in four games.
• In the win over Alaska Fairbanks, the team tied a program record five power play goals, the most since Oct. 27, 2018 against Miami (OH).
• The Sun Devils have split their last six road games (3-3) in the month of October, but take a two-game road winning streak in the month of October into Augustana on Friday night. ASU outscored opponents 18-12 in road tilts last October.
• Through four games, the Sun Devils lead the country winning 159 faceoffs and Additionally are fifth nationally winning .566 of their faceoffs this season.
• Cruz Lucius is one of eight players in the country to record a hat trick.
• Sean McGurn ranks second nationally winning 51 faceoffs through four games, in addition sophomore forward Logan Morrell is seventh in the country, winning 43 faceoffs.
• The Sun Devils are one of two teams (Stonehill) to have two players in the top 10 in the country in faceoffs won.
• Captain and junior center Kyle Smolen reached 50 career points in the win over Alaska Fairbanks with a point in each of the Ice Breaker games.
• Through four games, ten different Sun Devils have found the back of the net and 16 different players have registered a point in the team’s four games.
  
  An ASU Victory…
• Would win their second consecutive road opener for the first time in program history.
• Put the Sun Devils over .500 and be their third straight road victory in the month of October.
• Be the Sun Devils first three-game winning streak since Jan. 17, 2025-Jan. 24, 2025 from last season.
  
  Milestone Watch:
• Goaltender Connor Hasley is 22 saves away from 2,000 career saves between his time at Bentley and ASU
• Hasley is two wins away from reaching 40 wins in his NCAA career  
• Forward Johnny Waldron is four games away from 100 career NCAA games between his time at Miami and ASU
• Co-Captain Bennett Schimek is one point away from 80 career points
• Sophomore Cullen Potter is one point away from 25 career points 

CRUZ CONTROL:
Senior forward and alternate captain Cruz Lucius recorded his first career hat-trick, as well as becoming the first Sun Devil to score a hat-trick since Ryan Kirwan on Jan. 3, 2025. Lucius surpassed 80 career points on Saturday with his hat trick between his time at Wisconsin and ASU. Coming off an injury-riddled season last year, Lucius has four goals in the four games played by the Sun Devils. Last season, Lucius totaled 2 goals in 19 games. The senior was chosen in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft (124th overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes, then had NHL rights traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in March 2024. 

RED-HOT ROOKIES:
In the first four games of the season, six rookies have combined for 12 of the 42 points scored by the Sun Devils. Freshman forward Sam Alfano (1G, 2A) and defenseman Justin Kipkie (3A) lead the Sun Devil newcomers with three points each.

CHL pipeline:
Before the CHL rule change was a sure thing, Braxton Whitehead (Regina Pats) and the Sun Devils were the first to take a risk and make an official move, shaking up the hockey world in anticipation of the results from the a class action lawsuit, Rylan Masterson v. NCAA, which accused the NCAA of illegally preventing Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players from competing for American university teams.
“I’ve always thought that rule was antiquated in so many ways,” said Sun Devil Hockey Head Coach Greg Powers. “With Braxton, I simply believed in getting ahead of the curve by handicapping the situation. Change was coming, and it felt right. It’s going to make college hockey so much better.”
ASU now boasts seven players who competed previously in the CHL, including Sean McGurn (London, OHL), Austin Zemlak (Tri-City, WHL), Ty Nash (Edmonton, WHL), Justin Cloutier (Soo, OHL), Sam Alfano (Erie, OHL), and Whitehead (Regina, WHL). Before turning pro and competing in the ECHL and AHL, Jack Beck played for the Soo Greyhounds (OHL).

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