As the initial non-conference slate turns into the first wave of competition against NCHC opponents, a sense of déjà vu is lingering over the heads of Arizona State hockey. A recent road sweep at the hands of Augustana means the Sun Devils have two wins or fewer through the first six games for a second straight season, heading into conference play with a 2-4 record.
Coming off a bye week, ASU’s hopes of jumping from a sluggish start to a breakneck pace just as it did a season ago meet a serious challenge in the form of heading up to Ohio for a two-game series against Miami.
“The bye week came at a really good time to get our guys reinvigorated and really focus on what we’re calling kind of a new start to the season,” head coach Greg Powers said. “It’s conference play. We’re 0-0 in conference play. We’ve got a great opportunity to go in and get a big win Friday against the only undefeated team left in the country.”
To say the Redhawks’ 6-0-0 start to the season is unprecedented would be a huge understatement. For context, the team has already doubled its win total from last year’s 3-28-3 finish and hasn’t achieved double-digit wins since the 2018-19 season.
The man responsible for helping Miami achieve its best start in 18 years is second-year head coach Anthony Noreen. The Wisconsin-Stevens Point alum coached between the United States Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League for the first 13 years of his coaching career. His final stop before jumping to the collegiate level, the USHL’s Tri-City Storm, included becoming the winningest coach in franchise history and mentoring players like Toronto Maple Leafs star Matthew Knies, Stanley Cup Champion Blake Coleman, and former Sun Devil Benji Eckerle.
After ending his first year at the helm with a .132 winning percentage, Noreen underwent a complete roster overhaul in the offseason. Only seven players out of the 28 on the current roster are holdovers from a season ago, while 12 freshman and six transfers enter the picture.
“They pretty much have a whole new roster from last year,” sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser said. “They have a new groove in their step, and we’re going to have to work against them.”
The results thus far have been everything Noreen could’ve hoped for, thanks to several of the new faces making an immediate impact.
As a result of the recent rule change involving signing Canadian Hockey League players, the Redhawks were able to nab freshman forward Kocha Delic from the Sudbury Wolves. He has rewarded them by leading the team in goals with five and producing a point total of nine, which has him in a three-way tie for first.
Delic shares that honor with junior forward and Canisius transfer Matteo Giampa. The Ontario native earned two Hobey Baker Award nominations during his time on the Griffins, and he hasn’t wasted time providing an offensive spark for his new team by putting up three goals and six assists.
However, the final member of the three-way tie is someone that Powers and his staff will need to game-plan around heavily. Noreen’s decision to tender a teenage skater from Moscow during his final season with the Tri-City Storm ended up being the reason he was able to bring freshman forward Ilia Morozov to Ohio.
The 18-year-old is not only the youngest player in NCAA men’s ice hockey, but is also currently listed as the 25th best prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft by The Athletic. His four goals, five assists, and nine points through six games are certainly helping him make a case to be in the same spotlight as other younglings like Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff.
“What I really respect about what Anthony and his staff did last year was they tried to establish how they’re going to play in their program regardless of personnel,” Powers said. “They apply pressure all over the ice. They were really aggressive in all three zones, and now they have a much better roster. Young but very talented roster to execute, I think, at a higher level.”
The talent infusion over the summer has led to the Redhawks possessing the second-best scoring offense in the entire country, with an average of 4.83 goals per game. Six players have scored at least three goals on the season so far; for perspective, ASU senior forward Cruz Lucius is the only Sun Devil who has scored more than two goals.
Miami also thrives when it comes to closing out tight contests in the final moments. All but one of the Redhawks’ games this season have been decided by two goals or fewer. In the team’s most recent series at Lindenwood, both games required an extra period of play.
A strong showing against the Sun Devils at home could not only give Miami both its first win over ASU since the beginning of the 2023-24 season and its first in-conference victory since January 2024, but also offer a stamp of legitimacy to silence doubts stemming from the team’s first three opponents having a combined 4-16-0 record.
“It doesn’t matter who you play in college hockey; You go 6-0-0, that’s really hard to do,” Powers said. “The fact that they’re 6-0-0, I think that says a lot about their group and their ability off of a really tough year last year, turn it around and get off to a great start.”
To aid ASU’s pursuit of starting off NCHC play on the right foot and gaining some positive momentum, Boser and freshman forward Jack Beck are expected to take the ice for the first time this season.
Boser played in all 37 games throughout his freshman campaign, collecting the second-most blocks on the team to assert himself as a promising presence in the defensive zone. A year later, he’s a part of the experienced half of a young defenseman group looking to do what he can to prevent the Sun Devils from continuing to give up four goals a game on average.
“It’s going to be the focus this weekend, just keeping my feet under me,” Boser said. “Making simple plays, building a base, and extending on that throughout the season.”
Beck, on the other hand, is shaping up to make his debut in the Maroon and Gold in Ohio. After sitting out the first six games due to delayed enrollment rules, the former ECHL and AHL forward is expected to hit the ground running. He’s projected to be placed on a line alongside sophomore forward Cullen Potter and senior forward Johnny Waldron in the hope that his five years of playing at the junior level and beyond will translate onto the scoresheet immediately.
“Sitting in the crowd is not very fun, especially when you’re healthy and you’re watching and you know you can be out there,” Beck said. “I’m excited to get out there and be a part of the team now and try and help the boys win.”
Despite stumbling out of the gate, Powers shows no fear in his assessment of his team entering the NCHC gauntlet. Just 12 months ago, ASU not only started off the season 1-4-1 but lost its first three games against in-conference opponents.
The opportunity is there for the Sun Devils to quickly put themselves at the top of the conference and start working towards a return to the contender column this weekend, but it won’t come easy against a Miami team hungry to further extend its torrid opening stretch.
“Every weekend in the conference is an absolute war,” Powers said. “Right now, until we play Ohio State over Thanksgiving, everything we do and all of our sights; it’s not on the NPI, it’s not on the USCHO rankings. It’s on our standings in our league. We control where we are when we come back from Miami, and we want to be in first place after this weekend.”
Puck drop is set for Friday, Oct. 31 at 4:05 p.m. MST and Saturday, Nov. 1 at 3:05 p.m. MST.
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