(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
Arizona State hockey picked a great night for fan appreciation night. After the pregame festivities were complete, the annual Maroon and Gold intra-squad scrimmage was everything Sun Devil fans were hoping for. In a riveting back-and-forth, high-scoring game, players were skating for their hockey lives, and one man stole the show.
Sun Devil newcomer Sean Murphy played on the first line for the Gold team with Captain Colin Hekle and Faiz Khan. The freshman forward tallied two goals in Gold’s 6-5 win.
“Murphy is everything we thought he was and probably even more,” coach Greg Powers raved. “He is on paper the highest-touted kid we brought in. Right now that line looks pretty darn good.”
The first line looked to be in midseason form for this game. The passing was on-point, and it’s going to be tough for them to improve their chemistry.
“I thought I played good,” Murphy said. “I’d like to be a little more consistent as the season rolls around, but it was good. It’s easy playing with those guys.”
Even in the loss, Maroon had their fair share of standouts as well. Drew Newmeyer led the way. As half of the top defensive pairing (Jared Levos making up the other half), the ASU newbie had two goals.
Powers was pleased with what Newmeyer brought to the table.
“Newmeyer had a really good game,” Powers said. “He does all of the simple things really well.”
Newmeyer felt good about his showing in the scrimmage.
“I liked it,” he said. “I thought it was my best game of the week. It was fun and all guys’ talent level is really high. I can’t wait for the season. ”
This game didn’t count on the standings, but everybody played hard and that didn’t escape the eyes of Powers.
“These guys are fighting for a job,” Powers said. “This is not just a scrimmage. I wanted to see intensity and I liked it.”
The coaches will make their final cuts in the next few days and the ASU journey towards the championship begins Friday, Sept. 20th in Tempe at Oceanside Arena against San Diego State.
