TEMPE, Ariz. – For the first time since Dec. 3, the Sun Devil hockey team returns home for a two-game series with Southern New Hampshire on Friday and Saturday at Oceanside Ice Arena.
The homestand comes off of an exciting series finale with then-No. 10 Ohio State, in which the Devils (7-17-2) won the three-person shootout in route to a tie behind senior goaltender Robert Levin's 22-save night.
"We want to continue to try and win all the games we play at home, it's important to do that," said head coach Greg Powers. "It doesn't matter who we play at this stage of our program, we have to play the right way and things will take care of themselves. These games count for our record and everything. We have to approach it as we do every other game."
The Penmen (11-8-0) make their second trip to Tempe in as many years, but this time on a five-game skid. In 2015-16, the Devils routed Southern New Hampshire by a combined 16-3 in two games on Oct. 23-24, 2015.
A year ago, it was the ASU defensemen driving the scoring in the two-game stretch, with sophomores Nicholas Gushue and Joey Raats pacing the team. Gushue tallied two goals with an additional two assists, while Raats buried one of his own with an additional four apples.
For the Penmen, graduate senior Joe Collins is pacing the team in scoring with eight goals and 19 assists, while senior forward Jay Sylvia holds the most goals with 12 in 19 games.
Between the pipes, junior Ryan Slatky has started 15 of the 19 games with a record of 8-6-0, a .937 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. In 2015, he started game two against the Devils, making 45 saves on 52 shots.
For ASU, special teams have been clicking since the start of 2017, tallying a power-play goal in each of their four games for a combined 4-for-14 stretch. On the penalty kill, the Devils killed off all four of Ohio State's chances, who had the second-best power-play percentage in the country.
Freshman Tyler Busch led the team in scoring during the Ohio State series – the former team he originally committed to for college – with a goal and two assists. Graduate senior Robbie Baillargeon and redshirt junior linemate Wade Murphy both earned two points apiece.
Powers wants to see his team feed off their recent success, carrying it into a potential first home sweep of the season and a successful final stretch of the season.
"This is the last segment," he said. "We started it January 1 and there are 14 games, so to be over .500 in that segment, these are ones we have to have."
Puck drop for both games is set for 7:05 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena, with limited tickets still available for each.
The homestand comes off of an exciting series finale with then-No. 10 Ohio State, in which the Devils (7-17-2) won the three-person shootout in route to a tie behind senior goaltender Robert Levin's 22-save night.
"We want to continue to try and win all the games we play at home, it's important to do that," said head coach Greg Powers. "It doesn't matter who we play at this stage of our program, we have to play the right way and things will take care of themselves. These games count for our record and everything. We have to approach it as we do every other game."
The Penmen (11-8-0) make their second trip to Tempe in as many years, but this time on a five-game skid. In 2015-16, the Devils routed Southern New Hampshire by a combined 16-3 in two games on Oct. 23-24, 2015.
A year ago, it was the ASU defensemen driving the scoring in the two-game stretch, with sophomores Nicholas Gushue and Joey Raats pacing the team. Gushue tallied two goals with an additional two assists, while Raats buried one of his own with an additional four apples.
For the Penmen, graduate senior Joe Collins is pacing the team in scoring with eight goals and 19 assists, while senior forward Jay Sylvia holds the most goals with 12 in 19 games.
Between the pipes, junior Ryan Slatky has started 15 of the 19 games with a record of 8-6-0, a .937 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. In 2015, he started game two against the Devils, making 45 saves on 52 shots.
For ASU, special teams have been clicking since the start of 2017, tallying a power-play goal in each of their four games for a combined 4-for-14 stretch. On the penalty kill, the Devils killed off all four of Ohio State's chances, who had the second-best power-play percentage in the country.
Freshman Tyler Busch led the team in scoring during the Ohio State series – the former team he originally committed to for college – with a goal and two assists. Graduate senior Robbie Baillargeon and redshirt junior linemate Wade Murphy both earned two points apiece.
Powers wants to see his team feed off their recent success, carrying it into a potential first home sweep of the season and a successful final stretch of the season.
"This is the last segment," he said. "We started it January 1 and there are 14 games, so to be over .500 in that segment, these are ones we have to have."
Puck drop for both games is set for 7:05 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena, with limited tickets still available for each.