'We control our destiny': #12 Hockey looks to lock in home ice for playoff run

OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 12 Arizona State ice hockey team (13-12-2, 13-8-1 NCHC) finishes its regular season schedule at Omaha (16-13-1, 12-7-1 NCHC) with a long-term purpose in mind: securing home ice for the NCHC quarterfinal playoff round in two weeks. Puck drop for both Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1 is set for 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m. MST. 

With three points this weekend, the Sun Devils clinch home ice for the best-of-three series on March 14-16. The quarterfinal round determines which four NCHC teams compete for the Frozen Faceoff trophy at Xcel Energy Center on March 21-22. 

If ASU sweeps Omaha and collects six conference points on the weekend, the Sun Devils also essentially secure a second place finish in conference play - quite a turnaround from the eighth place that ASU was ranked in the NCHC preseason poll. 

"This is fun and with everything we've gone through as a program to build to where we are with Mullett, with a great fan base, with the league playing meaningful hockey at the end is what we've always strived to do and so that's what we're doing," said head coach Greg Powers. "Last year at this time, we're sitting on 22-23 wins with a great season and no chance to advance, and nothing really to play for other than just pride for the jersey. While that's important, it's still hard to get kids to do it when there's no light at the end of the tunnel. With these guys, everything's in front of us. We get to go on the road and three points cliches home ice, two wins this weekend very closely clinches second place, which is a hell of a first season in this league."

HOW TO TUNE IN
Both games will stream on NCHC.tv and air on Fox Sports 910 AM with Sun Devil Hockey Radio hosts Tyler Paley and Alex Coil. Saturday night's contest will air locally in Arizona on Arizona's Family Sports (channel 3 and 44). 

LAST TIME VS. THE MAVERICKS 
ASU opened its home conference schedule versus Omaha in November 2024. The two-game series was historic as ASU hosted its first conference games at home in program history. In Friday night's opening game, the Sun Devils' injury-laden bench couldn't top the Mavericks and ultimately fell, 4-2 (EN), despite putting over 40 shots on net. On Saturday night, ASU earned its first conference win in program history with a game-winning goal from Arizona native David Hymovitch. With Hymovitch's goal on Saturday night, he joined program alumni Josh Doan and Demetrios Koumontzis as the only Arizona-born Sun Devils to score a goal at Mullett Arena.

HISTORY VS. THE MAVERICKS (5-7-1)
L, 1-3 at Baxter Arena on Dec. 19, 2015
L, 0-6 at Baxter Arena on Dec. 20, 2015
L, 1-5 at Baxter Arena on Oct. 20, 2017
T, 4-4 (SO, W) at Baxter Arena on Oct. 21, 2017
W, 6-3 at Oceanside Ice Arena on Oct. 26, 2018
W, 7-2 at Oceanside Ice Arena on Oct. 27, 2018
L, 4-6 at Baxter Arena on Nov. 23, 2018
L, 0-4 at Baxter Arena on Nov. 24, 2018
W, 5-4 at Baxter Arena on Dec. 21, 2019
L, 4-8 at Baxter Arena on Dec. 22, 2019
W, 2-1 (OT) at Mullett Arena on Jan. 6, 2024 (Desert Hockey Classic championship game)
 

ROAD WARRIORS
ASU won six of the last eight games on the road, including a program best six consecutive away victories from Nov. 22-Feb. 1. The streak started at then-No. 1 Denver who was on a 21-game winning streak dating back to the 2024 NCAA Tournament and its national championship run. The Sun Devils collected the series sweep at Magness Arena - it was the first sweep of the Pioneers at home since pre-COVID February 2020. In the four years since then, Denver won two national championships (2022 and 2024). ASU's road dawg record continued at then-No. 15 St. Cloud State on Jan. 17-18 with 11 goals over the weekend pushing the Sun Devils to 6-3 and 5-3 victories. The streak lasted through ASU's dominant weekend at Miami which included 7-1 and 4-1 wins over the RedHawks. 

ASU NOTABLES

• ASU has competed with 27 different forward line combinations with 10-plus minutes of time on ice
• In games that Ty Jackson tallies two points, the team is 3-0-0 this season and 20-1-0 overall in his career
  • T. Jackson scored the first two-goal game of his five-year collegiate career in Friday night's win over the Broncos
• This season, the team is 7-0-0 when Kyle Smolen tallies a multipoint game
• Noah Beck retook the team lead in plus/minus this season with a +14. The mark is a career-best for the graduate defenseman who hasn't finished a collegiate season with above a +10 in other seasons
• Rookie defenseman Brasen Boser is sixth in the NCAA in successful stick checks
• Graduate defenseman Ty Murchison set a new program record for blocks in a single season at 78 on Friday night vs. then-No. 3 Western Michigan
• ASU allowed its most shots against this season in the Friday night win over then-No. 3 Western Michigan (42). On both nights against the Broncos, the Sun Devils allowed 20 shots on net in the second periods.
• Four of the last five games have gone to overtime. The Sun Devils hold a 2-5-2 record in games that reach extra time this season.

DEVILS GOT DEPTH 
Down the second half stretch, the Sun Devils have put their full roster depth on display with goals scored by skaters up and down the lineup. In the last six games, ASU's goals have been scored by skaters from three different lines, totaling 24 goals in that span. In the same span of the past eight games, ASU tallied six goals against No. 6 Denver from five different skaters. Bennett Schimek was the only skater in that game to tally two goals. Two weeks ago, at Minnesota Duluth, Artem Shlaine tallied a two-goal game on Saturday night. Last weekend against conference leader then-No. 3 Western Michigan, Cullen Potter collected his second career two-goal game. 

SNEAKY SILLINGER
Graduate winger and alternate captain Lukas Sillinger has gone on a heater in conference play, stealing the NCHC lead for points per game (1.40), assists (21), and assists per game (1.05) recorded in conference play. He is also tied for first in points tallied in NCHC competition with ASU's Artem Shlaine (28 points). Sillinger is on a nine-game point scoring streak which includes 15 points. The streak ties the longest consecutive scoring streak set by Josh Doan during the 2022-23 season at nine games with 16 points. In January, he set a new program record for career assists with 69. The fifth-year forward's career includes two seasons at Bemidji State and three at ASU. His combined career stats spanning 166 NCAA games includes 51 goals and 106 assists. Seventy-six of his career assists occurred at ASU. In the series at Minnesota Duluth in February 2025, Sillinger reached 150 career points combined in five years between Bemidji State and Arizona State. His 106 points at ASU is tied third in the program's all-time career points category with Matthew Kopperud. 

ARTY - THE TWO WAY CENTER
Through his 22 games played in the conference play this year, Artem Shlaine outpaces all other NCHC skaters, except teammate Lukas Sillinger in points tallied in conference play. The graduate center boasts 28 points and 13 goals (in conference play) - both marks set the pace for the NCHC. He ranks in the top-10 of goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game, points, points per game, shot percentage, faceoff wins, faceoff percentage, and shorthanded goals in conference play. With the most time on ice out of ASU's forward, Shlaine's kept a clean penalty sheet with only four penalty minutes through 26 games played. 

Shlaine led the NCHC in points through the month of January with 18. His season total rests at 31 heading into the series at Omaha. His career season high for points is 32 which he recorded in his first season at Northern Michigan (2022-23).

With four points on Friday night at Miami, Shlaine extended his point scoring streak to seven games, which tied for the second-longest point scoring streak in program history. He boasts 16 points during the streak which is the most points in seven consecutive games by a Sun Devil in program history:
- Artem Shlaine: 16 points - Jan. 10 - 31, 2025
- Robert Mastrosimone: 13 points - Feb. 17 - March 11, 2023
- James Sanchez: 12 points - Oct. 18 - Nov. 29, 2019  
- Tim Lovell: 8 points - Jan. 13 - Feb. 10, 2024

The point streak record is held by Josh Doan with nine goals and 16 points from Feb. 4-March 11, 2023. This record is now tied by Lukas Sillinger who has the opportunity to extend the active streak going into the series at Omaha. 

Shlaine continued his special teams success in January with one power play goal and two shorthanded. He scored his second shorthanded goal of the year at Miami to close out the month of January. Both of his lamplighters on Saturday vs. North Dakota 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 fourth multi-goal game of the season and sixth of his career in Saturday's game at Minnesota Duluth. He set a single game career high on Saturday night at St. Cloud State with four points from one goal and three assists. Three games later, he reached the feat again with a four-point night at Miami (1G, 3A). 

Shlaine leads the Sun Devils in shot percentage with 22.4 percent. In 26 games played and 31 points this season, Shlaine is over a point per game skater at 1.19 points per game. 
At the dot, Shlaine is one of the top faceoff specialists in the NCHC. He is first in the NCHC in faceoff wins during conference play and fourth overall with 289 through 26 games played. He has the most wins in the fewest games among all NCHC skaters. His 55 percent success rate ranks 14th in the NCHC.

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Kirwan was dominant in January, tying for the NCAA lead with 11 goals during the month. He tallied 17 points in nine games to start 2025, ranking second in the NCHC and third in the NCAA in January scoring. Kirwan recorded at least a point in eight of his nine January games, with five multi-point games, including a trio of three-point games. The Penn State transfer also scored a goal in six of his nine games, including four multi-goal games. He averaged 1.89 points per game in January, which was third in the NCHC, while his four power play goals led the league last month.
 
Kirwan opened January by being named MVP of the Desert Hockey Classic after leading ASU to the title with a four-goal, five-point weekend. That included a hat trick against Robert Morris on Jan. 3, which helped him earn the first of two NCHC Forward of the Week nods during the month. Kirwan helped the Sun Devils to a sweep at St. Cloud State on Jan. 17-18 with a three-goal, four-point weekend, including three points in the series opener and the game-winning goal in the finale. The Hobey Baker Award nominee picked up his second Forward of the Week award after five points against Colorado College, including a career-high-tying four points on Jan. 25 in a 5-4 loss. Kirwan stretched his point streak to five games with two power play goals on Jan. 31 in a win at Miami to close out the month.
 
Kirwan finished the month with a +9 plus/minus, which tied for third in the NCHC, and fired 35 shots on goal, which was second in the conference in January. His 31.4 shooting percentage was also second in the NCHC. Kirwan now leads the NCHC with 18 goals this season, while his 28 points tie for fourth in the conference.

SMOLEN'S SUCCESS
Kyle Smolen is ASU's swiss army knife. The sophomore forward can compete anywhere in the lineup. He's spent time this season as a second and third line center and filled gaps on the right wing from the first line down to the fourth line. Since the start of 2025, Smolen tallied 17 points in 16 games, blocked 16 shots, and boasted a +8 plus/minus. He's been a positive force for some of the team's top goal scorers who he's shared a line with. When they were linemates, Ryan Kirwan had six goals in four games with four assists by Smolen. Smolen has nearly doubled his offensive production from his rookie season and won NCHC Forward of the Week after a two-goal, three-point weekend against then-No. 3 Western Michigan last week. 

TWO HEADED MONSTER
Gibson Homer and Luke Pavicich have created the two-headed monster ideal for the grueling schedule in the best conference in college hockey. Homer and Pavicich own a near identical save percentage set at .912 for Pavicich and .913 for Homer. Pavicich got the nod in both two starts last weekend against then-No. 3 Western Michigan, saving a combined 76 saves throughout the series. 

PUT THE SPECIAL IN SPECIAL TEAMS 
ASU has tallied a power play goal in 13 of the 16 games since the start of the New Year. The 16 games include a total of 18 power play 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's power play ranks third in the NCAA, behind only Denver (31.5) and Quinnipiac (32.2), with a 28.4 percent success rate. On the penalty kill, ASU boasted six-straight games and 19 opponent power play opportunities without allowing the opponent to score a power play goal (Jan. 18-Feb. 7, 2025).