TEMPE – Sun Devil Hockey is set to host the Ohio State Buckeyes in a two-game weekend series at Mullett Arena beginning at 3 p.m. MST on Friday, Nov. 28. Puck drop for the series finale is slated for 5 p.m. MST on Saturday, Nov. 29.
Saturday’s contest will mark the team’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss” game, where each teddy bear tossed onto the ice will be sent to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Both contests will be intertwined within a 48-hour time frame for Sun Devil Athletics that also features home women’s basketball, football and volleyball throughout the weekend.
Where to watch
Fans can tune into the action on NCHC.tv, with Friday and Saturday’s games also being shown locally on Fox 10 Xtra. Radio broadcasts will be available over the local airwaves on FOX Sports 910 AM with Alex Coil and Tyler Paley on the call.
Last time out
Arizona State (5-8-1, 3-4-1 NCHC) is coming off arguably its best 60-minute effort of the season after taking down then-No. 3 Denver, 3-2, in overtime on Saturday, Nov. 22. The win earned ASU the series split and its third conference win of the season. Meanwhile, Ohio State (5-7-0, 1-5-0 Big Ten) suffered a sweep at the hands of arch-rival Michigan last weekend in Ann Arbor.
The Sun Devils’ fourth line of Carmelo Crandell, Kyle Smolen and Ben Kevan stepped up in a major way in game two against Denver as the trio accounted for five points (1G, 4A) in the win. Their strong effort was complemented by Jack Beck notching a multi-point evening (1G, 1A) and Cullen Potter, who netted the overtime game-winner, to secure a momentum-building victory.
Previous meeting
The last game between the two sides dates back to March 2021 at Ohio State’s Value City Arena. The Sun Devils completed a 5-0 shutout, which marked the end of a Big Ten all-road season when ASU was on the road 74 days out of the 113-day season.
Series history
Dating back to the 2016-17 season, ASU is 2-4-2 all-time against Ohio State. Friday afternoon will mark the first time the Sun Devils will host the Buckeyes at Mullett Arena, while it's only the second time Ohio State will make the trip out west after playing in Oceanside Arena in October 2018. It will also be the first time these two programs will compete against each other since March 2021, when the series was split in Columbus.
Scouting the opposition
The Buckeyes are 5-7-0 on the year, after being swept in their previous series at then-No. 2 Michigan. The program currently boasts a .516 faceoff percentage, as Max Montes leads the team with 105 faceoff wins. Ohio State goaltender Eberly Kristoffer has earned a .904 save percentage through 11 games in net this season, recording one shutout against Sacred Heart on Oct. 25.
Quick hits
- The overtime game-winning goal for Cullen Potter was the first OT winner in Potter’s career.
- It was the first OT win of the season for ASU, and the team's first OT win since downing Minnesota Duluth, 6-5, in the NCHC playoffs first round series clincher on March 15, 2025.
- Potter is on a five-game point streak, which is the longest ongoing point streak among active skaters. He’s recorded five points across the five games (2G, 3A).
- In November, Schimek ranks second among all skaters in the NCHC with 9 points (3G, 6A).
- After Kyle Smolen set a new single-game career-best with three assists, the Sun Devils moved to 12-0-1 when he has recorded a multi-point game.
- Connor Hasley has recorded back-to-back wins in net after compiling 42 saves on 44 shots on Nov. 22 against Denver.
- Cruz Lucius is all over the NCHC leaderboards to begin the season. The senior forward currently finds himself in the top-five in: power play goals (2nd, 5), shots (3rd, 56), goals (4th, 9) and goals-per-game (4th, .64)
- Ohio State will be the third different Big Ten opponent the Sun Devils will host this season, after previously facing off against Penn State and Notre Dame.
An ASU win would …
- Give the Sun Devils back-to-back wins for the first time since Oct.10-11, 2025, where they won the Icebreaker tournament after wins over Notre Dame and Alaska Fairbanks.
- Be the first Friday win since Miami on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.
- Be the first-ever home win over Ohio State.
- Bring the Sun Devils back to .500 at Mullett Arena this season (currently 3-4-1).
Milestone watch
- Cullen Potter and Bennett Schimek are each two games away from 50 career appearances in a Sun Devil uniform, respectively.
- Schimek is seven points away from 100 in his NCAA career
- Cruz Lucius surpassed 100 career NCAA games on Nov. 15 vs. North Dakota. He is six points away from 100 career points and just one assist away from 60 career assists.
- Defenseman Brasen Boser is one point away from reaching 10 career points
- Sophomore Joel Kjellberg is three games away from skating in 50 career games
Super Schimek
Bennett Schimek is coming off a career-best season ranking in the top 10 in the NCHC with 37 points and 15 goals as a junior. He has followed up last season’s success with a superior start to his senior campaign, as he’s recorded a team-best 19 points (6G, 13A) to begin the season.
The 19 points through 14 games mark the best start to a season for him through 14 games in his career between Providence and ASU. He recently netted his 40th career goal after a power-play goal against Denver on Nov. 21.
Schmiek has had six three-plus point performances in his entire career, with three of them coming this season alone.
Schimiek recorded a five-point weekend (1G, 4A) helping the Sun Devils split against then-No. 6 North Dakota between Nov.14-15. His lone goal of the series was the fourth career shorthanded goal that sealed the win on Nov. 15.
The senior ranks tied for eighth among all skaters in the country with 19 points. Additionally, his 13 assists are good for third-best in the NCHC conference.
Schimek has compiled 56 points in 49 games as a Sun Devil, netting 25 goals and dishing 35 assists, as the Minnesota native is three games away from notching 50 career games in the Maroon and Gold.
Cruz control
Senior forward Cruz Lucius has established himself as one of the key forces to ASU's offensive success 14 games into the 2025-26 season. Lucius rode a six-game point streak from Oct.11 - Nov. 7, which marked the second-longest point streak of his career.
Lucius has now scored nine goals in 14 games, more than quadrupling his season total of just two goals in the 2024-25 season. Lucius’ nine goals this season are good for the third-most in the NCHC this season. He recorded his first career hat-trick on Oct. 11 against Alaska Fairbanks in the Ice Breaker championship game. Notably, all three goals came on the power play, the most individual power play goals in a game this season in the country, and the first time in program history a skater recorded a hat trick with all three goals coming on the power play.
The alternate captain had 11 points amidst his six-game point streak, the most in ASU history across six games. Lucius surpassed 80 career points in the win against Alaska Fairbanks and recently skated in his 100th career NCAA game in his tenure at ASU and previously at Wisconsin.
Lucius 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.
The Beckoning
After serving a six-game suspension due to the NCAA’s delayed enrollment rules, Jack Beck has lived up to expectations and then some so far. The Ontario native has piled up seven points in eight games (4G, 3A) with a key two-point performance (1G, 1A) in the win over Denver on Nov. 22.
Beck has added three power-play goals and notched his first career three-point performance against Colorado College in the 3-3 tie. Beck added a shootout goal to help the Sun Devils take the extra point on Nov. 7.
In his first collegiate game, he found the back of the net with just 58 seconds left, solidifying the win against Miami on Oct. 31 to give the Sun Devils their first NCHC win of the year.
Last year, he played 40 professional games between the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL. The 22-year-old left winger averaged a point per game in his first season playing professionally across the leagues.
Jack is also the brother of former Sun Devil standout Noah Beck. Noah spent his graduate season at ASU in 2024-25, when he recorded the third most single-season points for a defenseman in program history with 33. Noah earned second-team All-NCHC honors and went on to sign an NHL entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks.
Home grown Sun Devils
Forward’s Logan Morrell and Ty Nash have played on the same line, and both grew up in the Valley. Nash, a Scottsdale native, has a goal and an assist this season after playing for the University of Alberta in the WHL previously. Morrell, from Mesa, played his freshman season at Michigan Tech, where he netted 11 goals and 10 assists prior to coming home to Tempe. As a sophomore, Morrell has compiled six points (3G, 3A), including a massive goal against North Dakota on Nov. 15.
Morrell and Nash were members of the Junior Coyotes and have been playing together since they were 10 years old. Read more about the pair of Arizona Natives and their Sun Devil journey.
“For me, ASU is kind of the place I always wanted to be,” said Morrell. “I didn't get that opportunity when I was younger. Playing at a school like Michigan Tech, it was a great spot, but watching ASU just get better and better, I knew it was something I would be a part of.”
His nAme is brAsen
Sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser is the newest addition to the Sun Devil hockey leadership group, recently being named an Alternate captain. In eight games since returning from an injury, Boser has collected two points (2A) and 17 blocks to provide a spark for the Sun Devil back-end. In his rookie season last year, he led all ASU freshmen with 37 games played, making 60 blocks and picking up 7 points (2G, 5A).
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