Eight months ago, Sun Devil Hockey was in fairly good shape.
After closing out at the regular season on the road against the University of Wisconsin, Arizona State was destined to return to the promised land for a second consecutive season.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The world of sports as we knew it shut down for the unforeseeable future, eliminating the 2020 Frozen Four and NCAA spring championships.
The long and unclear offseason began.
ASU had lost five of its founding fathers to graduation. The Sun Devils’ top two defensemen Brinson Pasichnuk and Josh Maniscalco, signed free-agent deals in the National Hockey League. The vision of a 2020-2021 schedule was nowhere in sight, with the global pandemic restricting travel and non-conference play across the country.
But a glimmer of hope sparked.
On October 6th, Arizona State agreed to a partnership with the Big Ten conference for the 2020-2021 season, providing the unique experience of a conference routine for ASU head coach Greg Powers and his team.
“It’s going to be good to get familiar and have that opportunity to play teams more than just one weekend or one series a year,” the sixth-year head coach said during his pre-season press conference on Tuesday. “It will give us a nice taste of what being in a conference league is like.”
In their fifth year as a full Div. I schedule, the Sun Devils will compete in a conference-style schedule for the first time. ASU has faced only one opponent four times in a single season, which came against the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the 2018-2019 season.
The Sun Devils have some holes to fill with the departures in their scoring depth on the backend. Pasichnuk and Mansicalco combined for 22 goals and 69 points and ate up a large chunk of the ice time on the Sun Devils’ blue line.
Regardless, Powers believes some of his depth players on defense will step up into more important roles this season.
“The biggest question mark people are going to have is how do we replace the minutes we lost on the backend with Brinson and Manny,” said Powers, who was a finalist for NCAA Coach of the Year for the second-straight year. “We feel like we’re deep and talented. Tanner Hickey is a really, really good hockey player. We’re happy with how he looks so far. Jacob Wilson and Jarrod Gourley are horses. Jack Judson and Gvido Jansons look incredible. Kosobud looks great. It’s time for these guys to step up.”
The Sun Devils added sophomore Tanner Hickey and freshman Carson Kosobud as part of their No. 21-ranked recruiting class, according to Neutralzone.net, which consists of seven newcomers and two NHL draft picks in forward Ryan O’Reilly (Detroit – 2018 4th Round) and goaltender Cole Brady (2019 – New Jersey 5th Round).
Hickey entered the transfer portal after the University of Alabama-Huntsville temporarily shut down its hockey program in March due to budget restrictions. Hickey led the Chargers’ blueline with three goals and seven assists in 30 games during his freshman campaign.
Senior forward Sean Dhooghe also joins ASU through the transfer portal after three seasons with Wisconsin. The 5-foot-3 right winger didn't appear in any of the Badgers' final eight games last season after sustaining a left knee injury.
Despite the drop-off last year, Dhooghe brings his experience of league play in the Big Ten to the table.
“Sean can certainly instill the confidence and resolve that we have in our team to be successful,” Powers said. “He believes that we have a team here that can have success, facing the schedule we have.”
Following a lengthy recovery period and weeks of practice at Oceanside Ice Arena, senior forward Johnny Walker says Dhooghe has fit right into the Sun Devils’ scheme up front.
“He’s actually taller in person,” Walker said with a smile. “He gets in the corners and battles. He’s got great vision. He’s a really smart and talented. I really enjoy being out there with him. Me, [James] Sanchez and Dhooghe are starting to really get along together every practice.”
Walker, a Phoenix-native, returns with the most career goals (60) of any active college hockey player. The next closest is former USHL teammate and conference opponent Mitchell Lewandowski, who has tallied 47 goals in 108 games with Michigan State.
Walker also earns a captaincy title following Maniscalco’s exit to the NHL. Walker and senior defenseman Jacob Wilson represent the Sun Devils’ captains while senior forward Dominic Garcia and junior forward Jordan Sandhu serve as alternate captains.
Walker and Sanchez carried the load offensively as the top two scorers for the Sun Devils last season at 38 and 40 points, respectively.
Sanchez became the first Sun Devil to hit the 40-point mark in a season, accomplishing this feat in his first season at Arizona State since transferring from the University of Michigan.
“We want to be in the tournament,” Sanchez said. “We’re hoping to pick up right where we left off. I don’t see why we can’t. I think it’s a time game right now. We just got to get it, and we’ll be right there.”
Feeding off a program-best 22 wins from the 2019-2020 season; the Sun Devils entered the preseason rankings at No. 15, according to USCHO’s poll.
The Big Ten serves as a tall task for the Sun Devils. Five of the seven conference opponents rank within the top-20 – Penn State at No. 9, Ohio State at No. 10, Michigan at No. 12, Minnesota at No. 14 and Notre Dame at No. 19.
In addition to competing against one of the toughest conferences of college hockey, the Sun Devils will be on the road all season long playing in the Big Ten’s prestigious arenas with empty seats.
“The travel is going to be difficult, but I think the longer the season goes, I think there will be ups and downs with traveling so much,” junior goaltender Evan DeBrouwer said. “It’s about managing those peaks and valleys involved with each season. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to play with fans this season. The places that we are going to play are pretty amazing. You dream about playing in those Big 10 arenas. It’s playing in Minnesota, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State. The fact that we get to be a part of that now and we get to play every single one of our games against these top programs is really exciting.”
DeBrouwer started the bulk of the games last season, establishing a 19-11-3 record with a 2.52 GAA and .919 SV%. He will compete alongside sophomore Justin Roberts and freshman Cole Brady in securing the starting job each night during the condensed season.
“We have three guys who can win us games,” Powers said. “Evan has earned the right to be that so-to-speak incumbent starter because of the season he had, but he knows that there is some serious competition. It’s game-by-game. I always coach with my gut, and who I think is going to win us that game on that day is who is going to go.”
The Sun Devils will see decreased off days in between games. Four days after their season-opening weekend against Michigan on Nov. 14-15, the team faces Michigan State on a Thursday night. In the span of a week, the Sun Devils lock horns with Wisconsin (Nov. 28-29) and Notre Dame (Dec. 3-4).
On top of the shortened rest periods, Arizona State will follow the Big Ten’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols in order to successfully compete during its extended road trips, including a three-week stretch to begin the season in the Great Lake State.
“It’s a way we can create a safe environment in a bubble for our players and staff,” Powers said. “We will have our thumb on our players 24/7 for 22 days. It gives us the best chance to play these eight games from a protocol and safety standpoint.”
Even with all the new variables, the feeling of a redemption tour carries the Sun Devils into the upcoming road campaign that begins in three days.
“This is our last chance,” Walker said. “You don’t want to miss out on making a tournament, especially when we played as well as we did. There was definitely a lot of bitterness. Now, it’s time to put all that training together and set last year behind us, but at the same time, still remember that feeling of how close we were and try to recreate that feeling.”
“I think it’s a lot like last year where we made the tournament by freshman year,” DeBrouwer said. “Everyone thought that it was just a one-off or we got lucky. Last year, we came with that attitude that we still have more to prove. I think we’re able to do that, and we’ve gained more respect now. I think that’s a big reason why we’re in the Big Ten conference this season. We’re definitely hungry to get at this season.”
