ASU Men’s Hockey: Sun Devils visit No. 5 Minnesota Duluth

(Photo via Marlee Smith/WCSN)

After a 17-17-1 season, Arizona State Men’s Hockey will look to earn its first winning season since 2019-20, which saw them finish 22-11-3. This season will mark the start of a new era for the Sun Devils after officially closing the door at Oceanside Ice Arena and will soon open the doors at Mullett Arena. But before the home opener, they will travel to Duluth, Minnesota, for their opening two-game series against the No. 5 ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

The weekend series will mark the first time the two programs have met in ASU’s seven years as a D-I program. Duluth finished 22-16-4 last season, has qualified for three of the last five Frozen Fours and won two NCAA National Championships in 2018 and 2019.

“They’re a premiere model program of college hockey,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said on Tuesday.

Many familiar faces will return to the ice for the Sun Devils on Saturday including sophomore forward Josh Doan, sophomore defenseman Ty Murchison, and junior forward Matthew Kopperud. Doan, a Scottsdale native, was recently named captain by Powers after accumulating 37 total points and assists, which are both single-season records. Doan was a finalist for the Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year last season after being drafted 37th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft, the highest draft pick in program history.

“Josh has been an amazing captain,” transfer senior forward Robert Mastrosimone said. “For me as a transfer, he’s been so accepting and he’s really taken me under his wing. He’s been a really good leader on the ice and off the ice.”

Like Doan, Murchison also played in all 35 games of his rookie season and was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished the year with 52 blocks, four goals, and three assists. Of his four goals, two of those were game-winners against New Hampshire and Colorado College.

As for Kopperud, he had 13 multi-point games last year in his sophomore campaign, leading the NCAA in points for five consecutive weeks to start the season, and finished the season tied for the second-most points in a single season with 40. Furthermore, he finished second in the record book for goals in a season with 22, one shy of Johnny Walker’s record in 2018-19.

Graduate forward Demetrios Koumontzis and senior defenseman Jacob Semik were named alternate captains to this year’s squad, both of whom were also alternate captains last season. Semik serves as a leader on the team academically as he was awarded Pac-12 All-Academic honors and earned the Krampade All-American Scholar Award, which requires at least a 3.75 GPA, in 2021-22.

The 2022 Sun Devil squad will feature some new faces as well, as Powers and his coaching staff acquired junior forwards Ty and Dylan Jackson and sophomore goalie TJ Semptimphelter from Northeastern, and senior forward Robert Mastrosimone from Boston University through the transfer portal.

“To open up [in Duluth] is going to tell us what we’re all about and what we need to work on moving forward,” Powers said. “It’s a series that, really, no matter the result, we’re going to get better from it.”

On the other hand, the Bulldogs will have a bigger share of new talent on the ice after losing forwards Kobe Roth and Noah Cates, and goalie Ryan Fanti. Roth led the team with 29 points last season and ranked second in goals with 16. Cates finished with 11 goals and 13 assists, including a season-high of six goals against St. Cloud State on Mar. 11. Fanti was strong in the net for the Bulldogs last season, finishing with a .929 save percentage and averaging 23 saves per game, averaging 1.83 goals against per game, and seven shutouts over the team’s 38 games.

The Sun Devils are ready to open up their season, regardless of who they will play.

“We’re ready. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” Koumountzis said. “College hockey, anyone can beat anyone. We’ve learned that from day one since I’ve been here.”

“We just have to go in and compete,” Powers said. “That’s what Duluth does so well. They work so hard, and they’re a structured team, but they don’t do anything crazy. We know what we have to do. We just have to win our battles, go in and play good confident, hard hockey.”