#16 Hockey Hosts Top Showdown vs #14 North Dakota

TEMPE – The No. 16 Arizona State ice hockey team (10-7-1, 5-3-3 NCHC) proceeds with NCHC play as host of No. 14 North Dakota (11-7-1, 6-2-0 NCHC) on Jan. 10-11 at Mullett Arena. The top-20 showdown between the current top teams in the NCHC starts on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. MST on Friday. Game two of the series is slated for a 5 p.m. MST puck drop on Fox 10 Xtra and NCHC.tv. Both games will be broadcast on the airwaves on Fox Sports 910.  

On a seven-game winning streak, the Sun Devils look to further secure their place at the top of the NCHC standings. Western Michigan remains at the top of the league with 19 points followed by North Dakota with 17 and Arizona State with 15. 

The Sun Devils are listed 15th in the PairWise Rankings compared to the Fighting Hawks' 20th spot. The PairWise Rankings (PWR) are a statistical tool designed to approximate the process by which the NCAA selection committee decides which teams get at-large bids to the 16-team NCAA tournament. Although the NCAA selection committee does not use the PWR as presented by USCHO.com, the PWR has been accurate in predicting which teams will make the tournament field.

Full series preview linked here

ASU NOTABLES

• ASU's current seven-game winning streak ties the program record for most consecutive wins set at seven between Jan. 25-Feb. 15, 2020.
• With last weekend's wins, the Sun Devils moved to 9-1-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.
• When leading after two periods, ASU is 7-0-0
• 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.
• Ryan Kirwan's 11 goals is tied second in the NCHC and ninth nationally
• Kirwan's hat trick vs. Robert Morris was the 11th hat trick recorded in ASU history. The last hat trick scored by a Sun Devil was Bennett Schimek at Air Force on Oct. 4, 2024
• Artem Shlaine finished as +4 on the weekend during the Desert Hockey Classic. He led the ASU team in faceoffs on Saturday night with 15 wins, 13 losses (53.6 percent)
• Junior forward and Wisconsin transfer Cruz Lucius is expected to make his ASU debut
• Ryan Kirwan's 11 goals is tied at ninth in the country
• Noah Beck is tied for the team lead in points with Schimek with 18 (3G, 15A). The mark is tied fifth in NCHC for most points
• Cullen Potter collected his first career two-goal night vs. Robert Morris
• After his shutout performance vs. then-No. 16 Cornell, Gibson Homer's goals against average and save percentage ranks in the top-15 of all goaltenders nationally
• ASU is top-20 in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.22 avg.) and scoring margin (.78) 

HISTORY VS. FIGHTING HAWKS (1-0-0)
The two programs have met only once in their histories. During the 2022-23 season, ASU defeated No. 6/7 North Dakota, 3-2, in front of over 15,000 Fighting Hawks fans in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game at T-Mobile Arena. UND took the 2-0 lead early in the first period. Matthew Kopperud cut the Fighting Hawks lead in half with a power play goal to end the opening frame. Lukas Sillinger scored the game-tying goal on the power play in the second period. Robert Mastrosimone scored the eventual game-winner just 24 seconds into the third period. TJ Semptimphelter had the start for the maroon and gold, making 13 saves on the night. 

At the time, the David versus Goliath victory was the highest ranked win for ASU since the Sun Devils defeated then-No. 4 Denver in a 4-1 win in Tempe on Dec. 6, 2019. The Sun Devils have since then defeated No. 2 Minnesota, No. 2 Denver, No. 9 Providence, and No. 1 Denver. The Sun Devils have now upset 14 top-10 opponents in their 10-year history. 

DEVILS RUN HOT - 7 GAME WIN STREAK
After a five-game skid to start the season, the Sun Devils woes have finally turned the page. After defeating Omaha, 3-2, at home to secure a series split with the Mavericks, ASU turned up the heat on its opponents. After hosting UNO, ASU traveled to then-No. 1 Denver and secured a series sweep of the Pioneers at Magness Arena. The wins ended DU's 21-game winning streak that dated back to March 2024 and included the Pioneers NCAA championship berth. The Sun Devils handed the Pioneers their first sweep at home since pre-COVID February 2020 after they fell in a series to Minnesota Duluth. In the four years since then, Denver has won two national championships (2022 and 2024). ASU enjoyed an off-weekend after the huge wins in the Mile High City before hosting Minnesota Duluth in the final series before the holiday break. After winning 5-3 on Friday, the Bulldogs pushed Saturday to overtime but the Sun Devils ultimately came out on top, 3-2. Following the month off, ASU hosted its sixth annual Desert Hockey Classic, defeating Robert Morris, 7-3, en route to the championship game against then-No. 16 Cornell. The Sun Devils secured back-to-back titles as champions of the classic after shutting down the Big Red with a 4-0 victory and 34-save shutout for Gibson Homer. 

CONNECTIONS RUN DEEP
Despite being separated by over 25 hours of driving and 1,643 miles, the connections between ASU and UND run deep. Sun Devil Hockey great Johnny Walker's brother Jake Livanavage is a sophomore for the Fighting Hawks. He now skates in front of former ASU goaltender TJ Semptimphelter who held the ASU crease for two seasons (2022-24). ASU junior Tucker Ness' brother, Griffin, was a four-year skater, including 111 games, for UND. Sun Devil rookie Brasen Boser grew up four-and-a-half hours northwest of Fargo in Minot, and like all fans in North Dakota, was raised rooting for North Dakota Hockey. 

CLUTCH KIRWAN
Ryan Kirwan won NCHC Forward of the Week after a five-point weekend during the Desert Hockey Classic capped off by a hat trick on Friday night and a goal and assist on Saturday night. He was awarded the DHC's Most Valuable Player and finished +4 on the weekend. The multipoint games put Kirwan at 18 multipoint games in his collegiate career during which his teams boasted a perfect 18-0-0 undefeated record. Kirwan was ASU's fifth player of the week since the team joined the NCHC (previous: Beck, Schimek, Shlaine and Pavicich).

FIRST LOOK AT LUCIUS
Wisconsin transfer Cruz Lucius is expected to make his first appearance in maroon and gold this weekend vs. UND after being out due to injury. The junior forward averaged a point per game in both his freshman and sophomore seasons for the Badgers. Last season he led Wisconsin in points with 34 from 13 goals and 21 assists. He was named to the 2023 Ice Breaker All-Tournament Team, the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, and was named Academic All-Big Ten. In his rookie year (11G, 23A), he was named the Mark Johnson Rookie of the Year award and was a Hobey Baker nominee. Before becoming a Badger, he skated with the U.S. National Team Development Program and scored nine goals and 18 points during an injury-shortened, 23-game season in 2021-22. He played with current Sun Devils Ty Murchison and Gibson Homer during his time at the USNTDP. He also helped Team USA win silver at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship with two goals and eight points in six games.