LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Arizona State men's ice hockey team kicks off the New Year with a trip to Sin City as one of four teams in the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational at T-Mobile Arena, home to the newest NHL team, the Vegas Golden Knights. All games will be streamed live on FloHockey.tv.
ASU (4-12-4) hits the ice on Friday, Jan. 5 at 8:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. AZT for their fifth introductory match of the season as they face Northern Michigan (11-9-2) for the first time. The Sun Devils will play either No. 13 Boston College or Michigan Tech on Saturday.
"It is a great honor to be a part of the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational and part of the first-ever college hockey tournament in Las Vegas," said head coach Greg Powers. "One of our top priorities as a program is to help grow this game out west, and this tournament is yet another great way to showcase Division I college hockey in a non-traditional market out west."
The inaugural tournament places the Devils in great company, as each of the three other teams participating is either ranked or receiving votes in the USCHO poll. Northern Michigan and Saturday's opponent become the 8th and 9th teams, respectively, on ASU's schedule that are ranked in the poll entering puck drop.
The Sun Devils sent-off 2017 on the ice of back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, at the Three Rivers Classic. Over the course of the two-day tournament, ASU suffered losses to No. 11 Providence and Lake Superior State. The latter coming in arguably one of the team's best-played games to date, as they outshot the Lakers 49-21 for the program's most shots on goal in a game.
When looking back at last season, the Sun Devils proved they were a second-half team as they seemed to learn from the first half. In 2016-17, the Devils went 6-6-2 in the 2017 after the new year, and averaged nearly a goal-per-game more than the 2016 half. ASU will look to do the same in the second half.
Sophomore forward Brett Gruber will need to be a big part of that, as he continues to lead the team in points for the fourth-straight week. He looks to bet big to add to his 13 total points after a dry spell in Pittsburgh.
Hot on his heels is sophomore forward Tyler Busch, who collected at least one point in the last seven series for 10 out of 12 total points and six of his seven goals.
On Friday, public enemy No. 1 for the Sun Devils is a different Wildcat than the usual southern rival.
The Northern Michigan Wildcats leading goal scorer and senior forward Robbie Payne is in a three-way tie for most goals scored in the entire nation. He's found the back of the net 16 times this season, including a hat-trick at Alaska and assisting on an additional six goals for a total of 22 points.
Underclassmen forward Darien Craighead is next in line behind Payne with 11 goals this season and a hat-trick of his own in a Wildcat win against Ferris State.
Wildcat netminder Atte Tolvanen boasts a .912 save percentage in 14 games played with a season-high 40 saves in October.
All games this weekend will be streamed live on FloHockey.tv.
ASU (4-12-4) hits the ice on Friday, Jan. 5 at 8:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. AZT for their fifth introductory match of the season as they face Northern Michigan (11-9-2) for the first time. The Sun Devils will play either No. 13 Boston College or Michigan Tech on Saturday.
"It is a great honor to be a part of the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational and part of the first-ever college hockey tournament in Las Vegas," said head coach Greg Powers. "One of our top priorities as a program is to help grow this game out west, and this tournament is yet another great way to showcase Division I college hockey in a non-traditional market out west."
The inaugural tournament places the Devils in great company, as each of the three other teams participating is either ranked or receiving votes in the USCHO poll. Northern Michigan and Saturday's opponent become the 8th and 9th teams, respectively, on ASU's schedule that are ranked in the poll entering puck drop.
The Sun Devils sent-off 2017 on the ice of back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, at the Three Rivers Classic. Over the course of the two-day tournament, ASU suffered losses to No. 11 Providence and Lake Superior State. The latter coming in arguably one of the team's best-played games to date, as they outshot the Lakers 49-21 for the program's most shots on goal in a game.
When looking back at last season, the Sun Devils proved they were a second-half team as they seemed to learn from the first half. In 2016-17, the Devils went 6-6-2 in the 2017 after the new year, and averaged nearly a goal-per-game more than the 2016 half. ASU will look to do the same in the second half.
Sophomore forward Brett Gruber will need to be a big part of that, as he continues to lead the team in points for the fourth-straight week. He looks to bet big to add to his 13 total points after a dry spell in Pittsburgh.
Hot on his heels is sophomore forward Tyler Busch, who collected at least one point in the last seven series for 10 out of 12 total points and six of his seven goals.
On Friday, public enemy No. 1 for the Sun Devils is a different Wildcat than the usual southern rival.
The Northern Michigan Wildcats leading goal scorer and senior forward Robbie Payne is in a three-way tie for most goals scored in the entire nation. He's found the back of the net 16 times this season, including a hat-trick at Alaska and assisting on an additional six goals for a total of 22 points.
Underclassmen forward Darien Craighead is next in line behind Payne with 11 goals this season and a hat-trick of his own in a Wildcat win against Ferris State.
Wildcat netminder Atte Tolvanen boasts a .912 save percentage in 14 games played with a season-high 40 saves in October.
All games this weekend will be streamed live on FloHockey.tv.