#12 Hockey Eyes Road Dominance in High-Stakes Battle at Miami

OXFORD, Ohio – The No. 12 Arizona State hockey team (14-9-1, 9-5-0 NCHC) returns to the road with aim to extend its newfound program record for most consecutive away wins in program history at NCHC foe, Miami (3-19-2, 0-14-0 NCHC) this weekend, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The two game series at Goggin Ice Center streams on NCHC.tv and over the airwaves with Fox Sports 910. The games will also appear on RESN with a tape delay. 

ASU is currently on a four-game winning streak on the road with back-to-back sweeps of then-No. 1 Denver and then-No. 15 St. Cloud State in enemy territory. 

The Sun Devils are in the midst of a heated three-team chase for the top spot in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings. ASU ranks third in the conference heading into this weekend's competition behind Western Michigan and Omaha - two teams the Sun Devils will face in the back half of February. 

To leave Oxford with six conference points is crucial to protecting ASU's finish in the top four of the NCHC. Teams that finish in the top four of the conference become the hosts of the first round of NCHC playoffs and gain the coveted home ice advantage en route to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship. 

PUT THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS
ASU has tallied a power play goal in every game since the start of the New Year for eight games straight. The streak includes 12 goals with a single game high of four PPG at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State on Jan. 18. The goals were tallied by Lukas Sillinger, Noah Beck, Ty Jackson, and Ryan Kirwan. ASU had success on the power play last weekend against the Tigers penalty kill which ranked ninth in the NCAA with a 85.9 percent success rate going into the weekend. ASU's power play finally broke into the top five and is currently tied fourth in the NCAA with a 28 percent success rate. On the flip side, ASU's penalty kill is humming at an 83.3 percent success rate which ranks 17th in the NCAA. ASU has tallied 34 penalty kills at Mullett Arena this season. 

ASU NOTABLES

• After tallying five points against the Tigers last weekend, Ryan Kirwan stole the outright spot as the team's leading point scorer with 26 through 24 games. He boasts 16 goals and 10 assists for a 1.08 points per game average. He leads the NCHC in goals scored and ranks third in points in the conference.
• The Sun Devil goal-scoring offense has been red hot since the New Year, tallying four or more goals in seven of eight games played thus far in 2025. The ASU fire power bumped ASU's goals per game average on the season through 24 games played to 3.5 which is tied for fifth-most in the NCAA
• Sillinger is seven points away from reaching 150 career points. He tallied 53 in his first two seasons of collegiate hockey at Bemidji State and 90 total points in his three-year career at Arizona State.
• After not allowing more than four goals against through 23 games, the dam broke on ASU on Saturday night against Colorado College as the Tigers were able to tally five goals against the Sun Devils. It was the first time that ASU allowed five-plus goals against since competing against then-No. 2 Denver on Nov. 11, 2023.
• ASU leads the NCHC in players with hat tricks. No other NCHC team has had two hat tricks this season. ASU recorded hat tricks from Kirwan and Schimek.
• With last weekend's split, the Sun Devils moved to 13-2-0 when scoring the first goal of the game. When leading after two periods, ASU is 9-1-0
• ASU has tallied shorthanded goals in two of the last three series. Scored by Ethan Szmagaj vs. Colorado College and Artem Shlaine vs. North Dakota

HISTORY VS. MIAMI (0-1-1)
ASU and Miami have only met for one series in their history. ASU traveled to Oxford for a two-game series three weeks in to the start of the 2023-24 season and suffered an overtime loss and a tie to the RedHawks. On Friday night, ASU was up 4-1 before Miami made a comeback that sent the game to overtime and allowed the RedHawks to steal the game with a 5-4 victory in extra time. The second game also stretched to overtime and eventually shootouts in Gibson Homer's first NCAA game. Homer earned the shootout win but the game stood in NCAA record books as a tie. 

LAST TIME OUT 
ASU got a taste of redemption last weekend against then-No. 19 Colorado College at Mullett Arena. After suffering a sweep at the hands of the Tigers in the Sun Devils' first NCHC games in program history, ASU looked to even the playing field when CC made the return trip to the desert last weekend. On Friday, ASU caged the Tigers with ASU's four goals from four different skaters up and down Friday night's lineup. Cole Gordon, ASU's fourth line center, opened the goal-scoring with a backhand at the crease. Within the next eight minutes, ASU scored two more times: first shorthanded by captain Ethan Szmagaj, listed as ASU's extra defenseman, followed by third line winger Dylan Jackson, in his first game back from injury. Second line center Kyle Smolen added the insurance in the third period with ASU's fourth goal of the game. Saturday night's game got away from the Sun Devils as the Tigers completed an unexpected comeback in the third period with four unanswered goals to claim the 5-4 victory and series split. 

ROAD WARRIORS
ASU set a new program record for the longest road winning streak with four consecutive games. This streak is currently active heading into the series at Miami on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The previous high was three and reached multiple times over the course of the team's 10-year history. The four game streak dates back to Nov. 22, 2024 and includes ASU's road sweep over then-No. 1 Denver and last weekend's sweep at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State.

HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES
Three skaters on the Arizona State hockey team, Ryan Kirwan, Noah Beck and Bennett Schimek were named to the Hobey Baker Memorial Award watchlist as announced by the organization on Wednesday morning.  

ARTY - THE TWO-WAY CENTER

• Currently on a six-game point scoring streak that includes 12 points (4G, 8A). In the last 13 games, he's tallied 21 points. The streak is tied for the fifth-longest point scoring streak in program history. The last ASU skater to tally 12 points in six consecutive games was Johnny Walker from Oct. 19-Nov. 3, 2018 (The point streak record is held by Josh Doan with nine goals and 16 points from Feb. 4-March 11, 2023).
• His nine goals is second-most on ASU team
• He is a 1.22 point per game player which ranks 16th in the NCAA and fourth in the NCHC
• Set a new career single game high for points on Saturday night at SCSU with four (1G, 3A)
• His shot percentage (.26) is tied fourth in NCHC and 23rd in the NCAA
• Tallied his third multigoal night of the season in Saturday game vs. UND (all against ranked opponents - #1 DU and #14 UND)
• Went on a 6-game point scoring streak (5G, 4A) from Nov. 16-Jan. 3. Tied for fifth longest streak in program history (also tied with the streak he is currently on heading into the series at Miami).
• Put up a four-goal weekend at then-No. 1 DU, tallying both game-winning goals on each night. Scored Friday at DU opening goal just 35 seconds into play. Notched the GWG with only 45 seconds left in regulation. Won Forward of the Week after DU series
• First on the team in faceoffs (80 min attempts) with

Artem Shlaine tallied three goals over the weekend against North Dakota. Both of his lamplighters on Saturday were scored on special teams - one on the power play and one shorthanded. There are only four skaters in ASU history who have tallied a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the same game (two occurred in 2024-25):
--- Artem Shlaine, vs. No. 14 North Dakota on Jan. 11, 2025 (L, 4-3 OT)
--- Bennett Schimek, vs. Air Force on Oct. 4, 2024 (W, 8-3)
--- Robert Mastrosimone, vs. Michigan Tech on Jan. 6, 2023 (L, 4-2)
--- Josh Maniscalso, vs. Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 9, 2019 (W, 4-0)
Shlaine recorded his third multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career in Saturday's game vs. the Fighting Hawks. He set a single game career high on Saturday night at St. Cloud State with four points from one goal and three assists. Shlaine leads the Sun Devils in shot percentage with 26 percent. 

CLUTCH KIRWAN
Ryan Kirwan scored three goals over the weekend at St. Cloud State, including a game-winning goal that separated him as the top scorer in the NCHC. He continued his hold as the league's top goal-scorer with a two-goal game vs. Colorado College on Saturday night. He won NCHC Forward of the Week after a five point weekend against the Tigers. With 16 goals on the season, Kirwan is tied for fourth in the country in goals and goals per game (.64).

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH

• The next game that Dylan Jackson skates in will become his 100th NCAA game split between a five-year career spanning two years at Northeastern and three at Arizona State
• Sillinger is seven points away from 150 career points split between five years between Bemidji State and Arizona State. He is also seven games away from his 100th at ASU after surpassing his 150th NCAA game eight games ago. He is two assists away from breaking the program record for ASU career assists. Sillinger boasts 67 at ASU and the record is currently held by Brinson Pasichnuk (68)
• Shlaine is eight games away from 150 in the NCAA
• Beck is three games away from 150 collegiate career games

POINT PER GAME DAWGS

• After missing the first six games to a preseason injury, Artem Shlaine wasted no time in taking up space at the top of ASU's scorers list. The graduate center leads the ASU team in points per game with a 1.22 average through 18 games played (9G, 13A). He notched 21 points in the past 13 games including competition against seven ranked teams.
• Ryan Kirwan boasts a 1.08 points per game average. He tallied 15 points through eight games of 2025 so far.
• Bennett Schimek boasts a perfect 1.00 points per game with 22 points through 22 games plated (8G, 14A)