Mere hours before the puck dropped at Mullett Arena and the second duel between the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) and the Arizona State Sun Devils, the football team departed for Atlanta, Georgia, for the Peach Bowl against the Texas Longhorns. Perhaps the biggest storyline in college football this season, Kenny Dillingham, Cam Skattebo, and Sam Leavitt, have beat all odds and look to shock the world on Wednesday.
“Kenny and the football team have set the momentum, and now we’re all riding it,” said Powers. “Bobby’s [Bobby Hurley] off to an incredible start, too; it’s a great time to be a Sun Devil.”
Related: Sun Devils Hockey: What Does the Road to 2025 Look Like?
With loads of talent between the Sun Devils and the Americans and 20-plus NHL scouts in attendance, all eyes were on the future of the NHL. At the end of the weekend, ASU earned the sweep, and while none of the stats or results go toward either of the team’s regular season records, it was a hard-fought series across both games.
Game One Showed Sun Devils’ Resilience and Determination
Entering the weekend, there was no doubt this would be the ideal spot to watch hockey: roughly 72 degrees, partly cloudy, and a slight breeze. In the latter days of December, you can’t get any better than that. Game one saw the Devils knot it up at the end of the second and then ultimately score twice in the third before sealing away the win.
“It was Christmas hockey, you know; I think both teams will be better tomorrow. I thought we did a lot of good things. I think that the intent to do good things was there, but the execution was not,” said Powers. “Their goalie played really well, and credit to their players, they didn’t go away. They’re obviously down 4-2. They could have folded it up, but they made us feel it a little bit, which is good for our guys, but it was a good, hard-fought game.”
The Sun Devils allowed a late goal in the final five minutes of the game, which is something they’ve struggled with this season but managed to secure the win 4-3. One player in particular that a five-year-old could see was the best player on the ice was none other than freshman Cullen Potter. He finished the night with just one assist but could’ve easily had multiple goals.
“I thought he was the best player ice tonight, [Potter], but I’m happy for him that he was,” Powers said. “It would have been nice for him to see him finish some of those chances. He could have easily had five goals, and hopefully tomorrow, he finishes those.”
Again, while these games don’t ‘matter’ in a sense, it was still a good moral victory for a team that has now won seven in a row (if you count these) and hit 2025 on fire.
Game Two Brings the Best Out of Greg Powers and Company
Towards the end of game one, you could see some physicality out of both teams. ASU, in particular, has been a relatively physical team all season, with guys like Noah Beck (6-foot-3) and Tucker Ness (6-foot-3) playing a big role physically. With over 50 penalty minutes (PIM) from both teams combined, there were lots of penalties and after-the-whistle scrums.
“Yeah, I mean, their team fought hard; they have a lot of pride; I thought they played really well with how shorthanded they were up front,” said Powers. “It made it tough on us. The goalie was really good, different goalie, but they got really good goaltending tonight, but we did too, so it was a great exhibition series.”
The Maroon and Gold capped off the weekend by going 1/12 (8.3%) on the power play, including 1/8 on Sunday. Of course, they didn’t have Artem Shlaine or the usual group of guys operating the power play, but that number isn’t great regardless of who’s on the ice.
“It was a little bit hodgepodge with the guys we had out, so glad they got a goal, but those are obviously not our units,” said Powers. “We were able to rest some old veteran leadership and keep them fresh for next week, and we got away with it.”
Speaking of veterans, Cruz Lucius played during warmups only for both games but didn’t suit up for the actual game, meaning he didn’t play a game in 2024 for the Devils.
“It’s in the air, he’s really, really, close,” said Powers. “That’s all we can tell you, and hopefully, he’s back, and if not, he’s really close.”
Assuming he’s back for the Desert Hockey Classic on Jan. 3-4, they’d be getting a big-time goal scorer, who led the offense for the Wisconsin Badgers last season. Ultimately, you can’t complain much about the outcome in a physical 1-0 win for the Sun Devils. Not to mention, Gibson Homer was solid throughout both games, and Sunday was the first time he started a game in over two months.
Sparky’s Notebook
- Landon Hafele, who played on the first line this weekend for the U.S. National Team, has already made his commitment to ASU next season and got a sneak peek of what being a Sun Devil will be like. “Yeah, I tried to watch him as closely as possible. He floats, he’s a big-time talent,” said Powers. “He plays the right way, forechecks, finishes checks, got a good stick. He’s going to be a hell of a player.”
- I mentioned it after the series against Minnesota Duluth, and it’s hard not to mention it again, but the line consisting of Ryan Alexander, Shlaine, and Kyle Smolen continues to dominate. Despite Shlaine only playing in the first game, since he’s returned from injury, that line has been lights out. It’ll be interesting to see where they slot Lucius in, but their depth is plentiful, with the Sun Devils becoming healthy again.
- Earlier this season, ASU swept the defending national champions, Denver University, at Magness Arena. It shocked everyone, but perhaps even more shocking this weekend was the University of Nevada-Las Vegas taking down the Pioneers in a shootout. Similar to this series with ASU and the USNTDP, it was only an exhibition game, but for a team like the Sun Devils, which had been a club team for so long, it shows that the future of college hockey is bright and growing.
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