No. 9 ranked Providence College came to Tempe to take on No. 13 ranked Arizona State hockey at Mullett Arena this past weekend. The Sun Devils split the two-game series against the Friars winning 4-3 in overtime and a 2-1 loss. ASU improves to a 10-3-1 record on the season with ambitions of making the NCAA Championship tournament. The team’s effort this weekend has moved them up one spot in the latest USCHO.com rankings; the highest they’ve been ranked since the 2019-20 season. The Sun Devils went 22-11-3 in the 2019-20 season, being ranked as high as No. 9 in the USCHO rankings during the season. Playing division 1 hockey since the 2015-16 season, this is a significant accomplishment for the program not playing in division 1 level of play for that long.
In Friday’s contest against Providence, senior Dylan Jackson delivered the game-winning goal in overtime, capping off ASU’s 4-3 victory. The Sun Devils remain perfect on home ice in overtime with a record of 4-0. Junior goalie TJ Semptimphelter recorded 38 saves in the game with multiple key saves in the overtime period. Senior Alex Young scored two goals in the game for ASU and now has five goals on the season. The Friars led 3-2 going into the third period with goals coming from freshmen Hudson Malinoski, Graham Gramache, and sophomore Austen May. Senior captain Tyler Gratton knotted the score up at three a piece in the third. Arizona State broke out their black jerseys on Black Friday’s contest.
In Sunday’s matchup, Providence scored two late second period goals, giving the Friars a 2-1 win. For the Sun Devils, senior Dylan Jackson found the back of the net again, this time on the power play. For the Friars, graduate student Jamie Engelbert and junior Riley Duran scored a goal each. All goals of the game came in the second period. Sophomore goalie Philip Svedebäck’s 19 saves contributed to the Providence win.
Arizona State goes 6-2 on their eight-game home stand and heads out to Colorado to take on a future NCHC (National College Hockey Conference) opponent, Colorado College. The Tigers have a 7-5 record on the season, recently losing a two-game series to No. 16 ranked Western Michigan at home last week. Colorado College’s leading scorer, sophomore Gleb Veremyev, has 12 points on the season. Sophomore Noah Laba is right behind with 11 points and was drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
For the Sun Devils, senior Lukas Silinger leads the team in points with 17. Silinger also leads ASU in assists with 12. Senior Dylan Jackson tied senior Matthew Kopperud in goals with seven each. Graduate student Brandon Tabakin had the best plus/minus rating on the team with a +10 rating. Junior goalie TJ Semptimphelter continues his strong season in between the pipes, posting a 2.61 GAA (Goals Against Average) and a .912 PCT (Save Percentage).
This series against Colorado College marks ASU’s first road trip since late October where they played Miami of Ohio. The Sun Devils weren’t able to come away with a win on their only road trip so far this season.