TEMPE – Following a week away from the ice, Sun Devil Hockey returns to conference play by hosting No. 4 North Dakota. It’s the second meeting between both schools this season with the two-game series starting Friday night at Mullett Arena.
Schedule
Friday, Jan. 23, 2026
Arizona State vs. No. 4 North Dakota - 7 p.m. MST
Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026
Arizona State vs. No. 4 North Dakota - 5 p.m. MST
Where to watch
Fans can tune into the action on NCHC.TV and locally on Fox 10 Xtra. Tyler Paley and Alex Coil will be on the call and can be heard on the radio at Fox Sports 910AM.
Last time out
The Sun Devils split their last series against Miami on Jan. 9-10, falling to the RedHawks 2-1 in overtime on Jan. 9. Sophomore defenseman Sam Court scored his first goal of the season in the waning moments of the game to force overtime, but Miami won within the first minute of the extra frame.
The following day, the Sun Devils rebounded in a gritty 1-0 win led by freshman goaltender Samuel Urban’s 37-save performance for his first-career shutout. Sophomore forward Noah Powell scored the game-winning goal in the third period. Urban became the second Sun Devil freshman to record a shutout since Cole Brady recorded 41 saves against Ohio State on March 5, 2021.
Previous meeting
ASU and North Dakota split their series in the Sun Devils' first trip to Grand Forks in team history on Nov. 14-15 earlier this season. The Sun Devils got their first ranked victory of the year with a 4-2 win over the then-No. 6 Fighting Hawks thanks to four different goal scorers leading the way. Senior forward Bennett Schimek had a game-best three points, netting a shorthanded empty net goal to ice the victory while adding two assists.
North Dakota won the series opener, 5-2, with a three-goal third period. The Sun Devils tied the game at two, with goals by junior forward Kyle Smolen and senior forward Cruz Lucius as Schimek assisted on both goals in the defeat. Schimek totaled five points for the weekend, which was a team best.
Scouting the Fighting Hawks
Remaining atop the NCHC with 32 points, North Dakota is 10-4 in conference play and is coming off a series split against No. 9 Denver. The Fighting Hawks defeated the Pioneers with a 5-0 shutout on Friday, but fell 3-2 the following day. North Dakota holds an 8-2 road record with one loss coming in regulation this season against Clarkson on Oct. 24, 2025.
Freshman forward Cole Reschny leads the team with 24 points, while North Dakota forwards Ben Strinden and Dylan James are tied for fifth in the conference with 13 goals apiece this season.
Goaltender Jan Śpunar leads the NCHC, allowing 1.64 GAA per game and has the best save percentage in the conference at .927.
Additionally, North Dakota is tied for sixth in the nation in scoring offense, scoring 3.8 goals per game and has the third-best power play in the country, scoring 28.7 percent when they’re on the man-advantage.
Quick hits
- The Sun Devils have won six of their last seven home games, and the team has won seven straight games that have taken place on Saturday.
- ASU holds a 3-2 record over North Dakota. The Sun Devils are one of six active Division I teams - joining Notre Dame, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and Cornell - to have a winning record over the Fighting Hawks historically (min. five games).
- A win against the Fighting Hawks would be the Sun Devils' third win against a top-five opponent this season. (3-2 OT win v. No. 3 Denver, 6-3 win at No. 5 Minn. Duluth) Additionally, the Sun Devils have four wins against top-five opponents at Mullett Arena since 2022.
- Forward Bennett Schimek has 68 points as a Sun Devil, which is ninth all-time in school history, recently passing Demetrios Koumontzis’ (2018-23) 67 points.
Schimek ranks third in the NCHC with 21 assists and fifth in the conference with 31 points. His 1.35 points per game also rank third-best in the conference.
In conference games, Schimek is third in the NCHC with 17 points and leads all skaters in averaging 1.08 points per conference game. - Cruz Lucius leads the team with 32 points, which is tied for third in the NCHC and tied for fifth in the nation. Additionally, his 32 points are the most by a Sun Devil through the team’s first 24 games.
- Lucius needs three more points to set a career best for points in a season (34).
- ASU is 9-1-1 when Lucius has two-plus points this season.
- The Sun Devils are one of two NCHC teams (Minnesota Duluth) to have multiple players with 20+ assists (Bennett Schimek, 22, and Cruz Lucius, 21).
- Forwards Cruz Lucius and Bennett Schimek were nominated for the 2026 Hobey Baker Award. Fan voting opened Wednesday to help select the winner of the NCAA Men’s Hockey’s most prestigious honor. Fans can cast their vote by visiting https://www.hobeybaker.com/vote
- Goaltenders Connor Hasley and Samuel Urban were recently named to the Mike Richter Award watchlist. ASU is one of three schools with multiple goaltenders nominated, joining Sacred Heart and Dartmouth as the only schools to do so.
- Urban currently leads the NCHC with 30.89 saves per game, while ranking third in save percentage (.917), trailing only teammate Connor Hasley (.920), and UND’s Śpunar (.927).
- Sophomore defenseman Joel Kjellberg is tied with Ryder Thompson (Miami) and Eric Pohlkamp (Denver) with the most blocks in the NCHC this season.
Sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser ranks fifth in the NCHC with 40 blocks.
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