Arizona State Hockey to Join NCHC in 2024

The Arizona State University men's hockey program finally has a conference to call home. 

The Sun Devils, who began NCAA Division I play as an independent in 2015-16 after decades as an ACHA club powerhouse, will join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference as its ninth member beginning with the 2024-25 season. It is the first time the NCHC has expanded since its inaugural campaign of 2012-13. ASU will become an official NCHC member on July 1, 2024.

The "new" NCHC will be divided into three-team pods, in coordination with the NCHC's annual 24-game conference schedule. According to TheSunDevils.com, "the new schedule model and rotation consists of three, three-team pods based on geography with teams guaranteed to play home and away series against the other two teams in their pod every season (eight games). The three-team pods are: Arizona State, Colorado College and Denver; Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and St. Cloud State; and Miami (Ohio), Omaha and Western Michigan."

ASU qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2019 after going 21-13-1 overall, the first hockey independent to do so since Alaska Anchorage in 1992, and the fastest school to ever do so at the NCAA Division I level. The Sun Devils were also on pace to qualify for the 2020 NCAAs after going 22-11-3, had the tournament not been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. They then played all their games on the road in 2020-21, due to COVID, all against Big Ten conference schools while finishing 7-16-3 overall.

The Sun Devils, who are coached by alumnus and former club team coach Greg Powers, went 18-21-0 this past season, their first in their new on-campus home, the 5,000-seat Mullet Arena that ASU currently shares with the NHL's Arizona Coyotes. Since joining the NCAA Division I ranks, ASU has amassed an overall record of 106-140-16, all under Indianapolis native Powers, a former Sun Devils club team goaltender who had previously guided ASU's ACHA Division I team to a national club title in 2014. ASU also recently hired former Boston University player and assistant/head coach Albie O'Connell as its new associate coach/recruiting coordinator.

ASU will play its final season as an NCAA independent in 2023-24, with two-game series against three of its future NCHC brethren: at Miami on Oct. 27-28, at home versus Denver on Nov. 10-11, and at Colorado College on Dec. 1-2. The Sun Devils will also play on the road at Robert Morris, Alaska Fairbanks, and Alaska Anchorage, and at home against Merrimack, Northern Michigan, Stonehill, UAA, Providence, Dartmouth, Cornell, Augustana, Lindenwood, UAF and Long Island. ASU will also skate in the Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, N.Y. on Dec. 28-29, before hosting its annual Desert Hockey Classic on Jan. 5-6 featuring UMass Lowell, Harvard and Omaha.