Arizona State
2018-19 Record: 21-13-1
Head Coach: Greg Powers, 5th Year Varsity
Top returning scorer: Johnny Walker (23G-11A)
Top returning goaltender: Evan Debrouwer (So.)
What is left to write about Arizona State? The Sun Devils, in season four of D1 men's hockey, became the fastest program and first independent school since Alaska Anchorage in 1992 to reach the NCAA Tournament.
In a year of surprises, ASU swung heads. If I wrote this series last year, an 8-21-5 Arizona State would be a second-week profile. Instead, it's mid-September, discussing its recipe for success and where the team goes from here.
It'd be expected the Sun Devils, returning 84% of scoring, would slowly do better as the first D1 classes become upperclassmen. Goaltender Joey Daccord improved from a .892% save percentage as a freshman to .909% as a sophomore to .926% and a Mike Richter Award nomination last season. Johnny Walker had a school-record 23 goals (2nd nationally) before getting injured near the end of the season. Defender Brinson Pasichnuk was 5th nationally among blueliners with 13 goals.
What's Old: Still waiting on a new arena and conference.
What's New: Scottsdale native Auston Matthews came around from not having ASU in his college top five and modeled some "throwbacks" to add to the team's thousands of jersey combos.
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) August 22, 2019
Also new? Going to China to play summer hockey.
As an independent, the Sun Devils embraced their inner Johnny Cash by being everywhere. But an 11-day August international trip goes to a new level. Arizona State won the Fu Xing Cup and went to the Great Wall of China.
ASU knocks off another state by playing Harvard in Irvine, California. Not a bad way to spend late December by wanting to see some palm trees, the Harvard of tropical trees.
Daccord, the great wall of Tempe, signed with the Ottawa Senators, becoming the first Sun Devil to play an NHL game. Replacing him are BU graduate transfer Max Prawdzik (Jake Oettinger's backup), sophomore Evan Debrouwer, and freshman Justin Robbins, one of six Arizona State rookies. Eddie Lack's now the goalie coach.
Closing Thoughts: I can't wait to read (or write) the next chapter of Arizona State hockey. A November OT win over Penn State seemed like a changing of the guard. ASU made the most of its opportunity to be one of college hockey's great stories.
But the way Arizona State earned an NCAA Tournament berth is not exactly easy. ASU beat the teams it should, avoiding bad losses for the most part while struggling against top teams, going 2-10-1 against teams in the top 20 of the Pairwise. Even with struggles (and the Sun Devils beat two NCAA teams plus swept BC), that consistency gets rewarded over a long season.
Is it a story Arizona State can repeat? Can ASU fare better against top 20 schools? The Sun Devils schedule features four NCAA Tournament teams (including a Quinnipiac rematch) plus several others looking to be on the upswing. Getting back Walker, who led the nation in shots per game (4.81) on a team outshot on average, and most of the blue line help limit the loss of Daccord.
More than anything, when the tradition continues to be set, it'll be interesting to see which individual(s) adds to the recipe of success like Daccord, Walker, Pasichnuk and the entire Sun Devils did last season.
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Bowling Green
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