(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
The thought that a 47-year-old youth sized hockey arena would be so alluring to an NCAA Division-1 hockey program is certainly questionable. But, after Arizona State Men’s Hockey was forced to travel across the country to face opponents for the entire 2020-2021 season, it is now back at Oceanside Ice Arena to face UMass Lowell to open up the 2021-22 season – which will be Oceanside’s last as the Sun Devils’ sanctuary.
“Just the fact that we don’t have to go and pack for 56 days… it’s pretty cool in itself, and then playing at Oceanside is awesome,” fifth-year senior forward Johnny Walker said.
The 747-seat Tempe staple has been the Sun Devils’ home for over 40 years, dating back to when the team played at the club in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
“It’s a unique atmosphere for fans and players alike,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “We’ve got one more year, so we’re going to enjoy it.”
The Sun Devils’ two-game set to open up their final season at Oceanside is against a River Hawks program that is fresh off of a 2021 Hockey East Championship appearance.
Even though UMass Lowell lost 10 players from last season’s championship-level roster, Powers still thinks it is a dangerous squad.
“On paper they’re gonna be a little bit different than they were last year, but it’s still an amazingly coached team,” Powers said. “This isn’t any sort of cupcake opening weekend. This is a really good, successful program that is going to give us everything we have to handle at our very best.”
The Sun Devils’ had a small roster shakeup as well, adding 10 new players in the offseason.
“The [team] feels good, clicking, getting some chemistry together,” Walker said. [There’s] some new faces out there so it’s a different dynamic, so it feels fresh and new, and I think that’s exactly what we needed.”
Some of the Sun Devils’ fresh faces might receive more playing time than expected against the River Hawks, after Powers confirmed that senior defenseman Tim Theochardis, sophomore forward Ryan O’Reilly and sophomore goaltender Cole Brady will all be out for the Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 matchups with various injuries and illnesses.
“It’s next man up when you’re as deep as us, you can sustain some guys being out, and most importantly, you can be cautious with looking at longevity,” Powers said. “We’re so confident in this group that if you’re not 100% there’s really no reason to play. ‘Let’s get you 100% so we can get the best out of everybody.’”
ASU especially needs the players that are out on the ice to be 100% for the type of hockey that it hopes to play in its opening series: physical.
“We’re big, we’re strong, we’re old, we’re heavy and we’re gonna play hard,” Powers said. “The teams that play the hardest and win their battles are going to win the game.”
