(Photo via Brendan Belfield/WCSN)
On Tuesday, Arizona State Men’s Hockey spoke to the media before the start of the 2022-23 season. Head coach Greg Powers and his players discussed the strength of this year’s schedule, the team’s identity and more.
Strength of Schedule
The Sun Devils are set to kick off the 2022-23 campaign with a two-game set at the No. 5 ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, who have enjoyed immense success in recent years and reached the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Powers acknowledged that Minnesota-Duluth is the first of many tough matchups for ASU this season, but he believes that it will be a good, early test for his squad.
“To open up there – we’ve never played them before – is going to tell us what we’re all about, what we need to work on moving forward,” Powers said. “So it’s a series that, really no matter the result, we’re going to get better from it.”
ASU’s schedule won’t get any easier after the opening series, as they will take on three nationally ranked teams – No. 4 North Dakota Fighting Hawks, No. 2 Minnesota Gophers, No. 17 Clarkson Golden Nights – and the Denver Pioneers, who are the defending national champions, all within the first three months of the season. Powers said the difficult schedule is intentional, as he knows playing games against highly-ranked programs will pay off and feels his group is up to the task.
“Again, if you can get wins, if you can beat all the teams you’re supposed to beat and split against the rest, we’re going to be a tournament team,” Powers said. “That’s the way college hockey works, it rewards you for challenging yourself from a schedule standpoint.”
Graduate forward Demetrios Koumontzis isn’t worried about the tough road ahead, saying how college hockey is full of upsets and his team will have the same approach every game.
“I think we’re ready. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing in college hockey, anyone can beat anyone. We’ve learned that from day one since I’ve been here. You just prepare the same way, doesn’t matter who you’re playing.”
Differences From Last Season
There’s no doubt that ASU’s current roster is different from the one they played last season. However, members of this year’s squad talked about changes that the public may not yet see, starting with the team’s new leaders. Powers explained how sophomore forward Josh Doan, senior defenseman Jacob Semik and Koumontzis form a group of captains that is unique from years past.
“We’ve had some great leaders in the past, but this group of captains has been different,” Powers said. “They’ve just approached every day with such vigor and passion, and ownership of their leadership roles.”
They’ve just been a little bit different than what we’ve had in the past. And again, everybody in the past has done a great job, but these guys, the three of them have been unbelievable.”
Aside from highly-praised leadership, Doan believes that the additions of speedy transfers and freshmen will help the Sun Devils play with a faster tempo this season.
“We made an emphasis on getting quicker,” Doan said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming in that are really quick, and that’ll be a big gain for us. I think we had a quick team last year … so I think this year’s team is going to be a little faster-paced.”
The Team’s Identity
At the beginning of every season, teams either look for or try to establish an identity. And senior forward Robert Mastrosimone believes that the Sun Devils’ identity will be a group that will outwork the opposition every game.
“Our identity is going to be a hardworking team, nonstop,” Mastrosimone said. “We’re going to come layer after layer in each game, and really pin teams in and tire them out. We’re a very well-conditioned team and I think that’s going to show every game.”
Powers echoed Mastrosimone’s sentiment but said that in addition to grit and a strong work ethic, his group has a lot of expertise too.
“One thing we have is skill. It’s just consistently preaching to the guys what our identity is going to be; we want to be a skilled, dangerous team, but we want to be hard to play against first. So it’s always been ‘hard and heavy,’ that’s been our mantra when we’ve had a lot of success here. Now it’s ‘hard, heavy and dangerous.’”
The Sun Devils will open their season on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Duluth against the Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. MST.
