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Arizona State Hockey Proving They Are For Real In First NCHC Season

Arizona State Hockey Proving They Are For Real In First NCHC Season

Arizona State is making the most of its first NCHC season, as the Sun Devils currently sit atop the conference and just outside the top 10 nationally

Jan 21, 2025 by Jordan McAlpine
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While those in Tempe enjoy warm temperatures this week – especially compared to Arizona State’s NCHC foes – Greg Powers’ team is red-hot on the ice.

The Sun Devils are coming off an impressive sweep at St. Cloud State and have won 10 of their past 11, vaulting ASU to No. 11 in this week’s USCHO Poll – which is tied for the third-highest ranking in program history.

ASU cracked the top 10 twice during the 2019-20 season, coming in at No. 10 (Feb. 10) and No. 9 (Feb. 17). This is the third time ASU has seen a No. 11 in front of its logo too, Feb. 3, 2020, and Jan. 8, 2024 being the others. ASU was ranked 12th three different times last season as well.

There’s plenty of hockey left and first and eighth-place are separated by just 11 points in the NCHC standings, but ASU leads the way with 25 points – one ahead of Western Michigan. The Sun Devils are 8-4-0 in conference play and 13-8-1 overall, and have swept Denver, SCSU and UMD – three of the NCHC’s traditional powers.

Quite the entrance by the Sun Devils, who officially became the NCHC’s ninth team on July 1 and were tabbed eighth in the preseason poll.

It’s been quite the build up to this point, as ASU went from an ACHA power to a Division I team in 2015-16. The Sun Devils won just eight games that first year but earned an NCAA Tournament berth in 2019 – becoming the fastest start-up program to ever qualify.

ASU had back-to-back 20-win seasons (2018-19, 2019-20) and won 24 games last season, falling just short of its second NCAA Tournament appearance. ASU is currently 12th in the Pairwise with 12 games left and will look to accomplish that feat this spring.

They’ve opened an on-campus arena, joined college hockey’s premier conference and had plenty of success on the recruiting trail in recent years. Many of those players are making significant contributions this winter too, whether they’re freshmen or transfers.

Freshman Cullen Potter, a top prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, scored again in St. Cloud and has eight goals and 13 points. Potter, who just turned 18 last week, flipped his commitment to ASU in May and left the NTDP early, enrolling in Tempe. Powers has already publicly dubbed him ASU’s best player in program history from a skill standpoint.

Northern Michigan transfer Artem Shlaine (NJD) has eight points (4-4-8) over his past four games and ranks second on the team in both goals (9) and points (18), while Penn State transfer Ryan Kirwan has a team-leading 14 goals. Clarkson transfer Noah Beck has a team-leading 22 points from the blue line as well.

Providence transfer Bennett Schimek has also made immediate contributions and although he’s played just four games (injury), Wisconsin transfer Cruz Lucius (PIT) could provide another spark down the stretch.

ASU’s 3.5 goals per game are the fourth-most in the country while its 2.5 goals against rank inside the top 20. Powers’ club has out-scored its opponents 76-55 and its power play (26.8%) ranks ninth.

For a team that started this season 3-7-1, they’ve quickly put that in the rearview mirror and carry plenty of momentum into a key stretch of games – starting this weekend as ASU hosts Colorado College.

It’s no secret ASU’s brand and Tempe’s location will always give the program a chance to compete, yet the Sun Devils are quickly making their presence known in the NCHC.

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