(Photo/video:Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
The Sun Devils remain undefeated and a lot of the team’s success is due to this year’s recruiting class. Echoing head coach Greg Powers’ “we will reload not rebuild” mantra, ASU landed two NCAA Division I players: sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt and junior forward Ryan Belonger.
Playing on a team that hoisted the Murdoch Cup last year, both players said, was a huge factor in their decisions to don the maroon and gold. In the end, it was the familiar faces and longtime friendships that helped bring both Midwesterners to Tempe.
For Belonger, it was junior defenseman Jordan Young.
After playing in the USHL for the Youngstown Phantoms with Young, Belonger kept in touch even after they both left the team. When he decided to leave the NCAA program at Northeastern, he reached out to his old teammate about playing for Arizona State.
“A lot of my coming here had to do with Jordan Young. I was in a position out at Northeastern where I wasn’t all that happy with where I was with hockey. Pretty much what it came down to was I wanted to have some fun playing hockey again,” Belonger said.
Similar to Belonger, Schmidt’s chemistry with the team stems from his NAHL days as a Traverse City North Star, where he played alongside sophomore forwards Sean Murphy and Eric Rivard. After playing in the USHL as a Des Moines Buccaneer and in the NCAA at Ferris State, Schmidt reached out to his former teammates.
“[Murphy] said, ‘We’re not just a club hockey team here-it’s different. We’re the hockey team. We take it seriously,’ and everything that he said came true when they won the national championship,” said Schmidt.
It’s that familiarity, both players said, that builds a championship team.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPvT0JmsyiM
“That’s a big part of it [moving here], being comfortable inside the locker room and having guys you like to be around and have fun with and trust,” Belonger said.
“Usually at the beginning of the year, it takes a couple of weeks to settle in, but it just seems like everyone is clicking right off the bat,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt calls New Boston, Mich. home, while Belonger hails from the frozen tundra of Green Bay. Both laced up their skates for the first time at an early age, with a little encouragement from their dads.
“One Christmas my dad just brought me a whole bunch of hockey gear,” said Schmidt. “First I started out playing roller hockey until I made the switch to ice.”
Belonger grew up in a hockey family, and it didn’t come as a surprise when he decided to forgo all other sports and focus on his skills on the ice.
“My dad had me skating when I was four, and I had an older brother who was playing so I obviously looked up to that. I’ve enjoyed playing hockey since I was young so I stuck to it,” he said.
Fast-forward to this season with the Sun Devils, and both Belonger and Schmidt have made huge contributions to the 8-0 record. Schmidt, who has already been a physical presence on the blue line, has tallied three goals and two assists.
“I’ve always been physical and played with a chip on my shoulder,” said Schmidt. “I think it just takes you a long way in hockey.”
As an offensive powerhouse, Belonger has notched six goals and six assists and is currently second on the team’s points leaderboard.
Both say they are ready to help the team leave Strongsville, Ohio with another national title. Belonger said that when the team received their championship rings from last year, he did not try on his teammates’ new hardware.
“I think it’s kind of superstitious and all, but you don’t touch the Stanley Cup before you get it,” said Belonger. “I wanted to wait for my time and touch my own ring.”
