ASU Players Request Coaches Go on Leave

Several Arizona State hockey players recently sent a letter to their university president, requesting that the Sun Devils' coaching staff put on administrative leave following the August incident with sophomore defenseman Matthew Mayich that has left him in a coma.

Mayich, 21, a Toronto native and a 2023 St. Louis Blues draft choice who played last year for Clarkson University, collapsed following an outdoor workout in Tempe, Ariz. on Aug. 20 that was led by a former military officer, with members of the ASU coaching staff supposedly present. A former four-year major junior player with Ottawa (OHL), he remains in a neurological unit in a coma, with his attorney having noted that Mayich is not expected to recover in any meaningful fashion. ASU police have been conducting their own investigation into the matter, but no findings have yet been released.

ASU head coach Greg Powers, who has led the program since its ACHA club days and its elevation to the NCAA Division I level in 2015, declined to answer questions regarding the incident or the training session at last week's National Collegiate Hockey Conference media day. The Sun Devils, who joined the NCHC in 2024, are slated to open their 2025-26 season this weekend with two games at NCAA Division I independent Lindenwood.

ADDENDUM: Powers has been placed on administrative leave for at least this weekend.

Canadiens Take 3-2 Series Lead over Sabres

Lane Hutson (Boston University) set up two goals, and Cole Caufield scored for the third straight game, as the Montreal Canadiens moved within one win of the Eastern Conference final with a 6-3 victory over the host Buffalo Sabres last night. Montreal, which trailed, 3-2, after 20 minutes of play, now leads the best-of-seven 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff series, three games to two.

Josh Doan (Arizona State) scored Buffalo's second goal, assisted by Owen Power (Michigan), as the Sabres outshot Montreal, 36-26, on the evening. Alex Newhook (Boston College) drew an assist on the game-winning goal for the Canadiens, giving him six points so far in five games. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) made 33 saves in net for Montreal, which can wrap matters up Saturday night at home in Game Six. The series winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final.

In the Western Conference last night, the visiting Vegas Golden Knights routed the Anaheim Ducks, 5-1, to wrap up that quarterfinal series in five games. The Golden Knights will now face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final.

Sabres Tie Up Series with Canadiens

Tage Thompson (UConn) tied the game on a fluke goal in the second period, and then assisted on the game-winner early in the third stanza, to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 victory over the host Montreal Canadiens last night in Game Four of their NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The second-round 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff matchup is now tied at two games apiece, with Game Five set for Thursday night in Buffalo.

Josh Doan (Arizona State) finished with two assists for the Sabres, who went 2-for-4 on the power play, including Thompson's blueline goal that banked off the left wing boards and into the Canadiens net. Alex Newhook (Boston College) scored his fifth goal in the last three games for Montreal, which also got a power-play goal from Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) and 19 saves in net from Jakub Dobes (Ohio State).

Canadiens Knot Series with Sabres

Alex Newhook (Boston College) scored two goals, and Mike Matheson (Boston College) notched the game-winner as the visiting Montreal Canadiens evened their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff second-round series with the Buffalo Sabres last night. The best-of-seven NHL Eastern Conference matchup is now tied up at one game apiece, with Game Three set for Montreal on Sunday night.

Lane Hutson (Boston University) assisted on Newhook's first goal, while Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) finished with 29 saves in net for the Canadiens. Josh Doan (Arizona State) assisted on Buffalo's lone goal late in the second period, long after Montreal had built a 3-0 lead. Alex Tuch (Boston College) of the Sabres led all skaters with seven shots on goal. Both teams went 0-for-5 on the power play.

 

Sabres Take Lead Over Canadiens

Josh Doan (Arizona State) scored one goal and set up another, and Jordan Greenway (Ohio State) added another goal as the Buffalo Sabres topped the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, in Game One of their 2026 NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series tonight. 

Alex Lyon (Yale) made 26 saves for the Sabres, who are skating in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2007, the last time they qualified for postseason play. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) had 12 stops for the Canadiens, who continued their pattern of win-lose so far in these playoffs.

Game Two is Friday night in Buffalo.

Penn State Sweeps ASU to Start 2025-26 Season

Penn State men's hockey is off to a good start. The Nittany Lions, who made their first-ever NCAA Frozen Four last spring, opened their 2025-26 campaign with a two-step sweep at Arizona State, winning 6-2 on Friday before rebounding for a 4-2 victory on Sunday at Mullett Arena.

Sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato finished with two goals and four assists for PSU (2-0-0 overall), with five of those points coming on Friday. Projected No. 1 overall 2026 NHL draft choice Gavin McKenna fired home the game-winning goal Saturday on the power play, after providing a two-assist collegiate debut the night before. Kevin Reidler, in his first season with the Nittany Lions after spending his freshman campaign at Omaha, stopped 80 of 85 shots over the weekend, making 45 stops on Saturday as PSU rebounded from a 2-0 second-period deficit.

Bennett Schimek and Samuel Alfano posted a goal and an assist apiece for the Sun Devils (0-2-0), who also got 82 saves overall from Bentley transfer Connor Hasley.

BC's Hagens Taken Seventh Overall in NHL Draft

Five players who skated in the NCAA last season were chosen last night in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

James Hagens (Boston College) went seventh overall to the Boston Bruins.  A 5-foot-11 center from Hauppauge, N.Y. Hagens tallied 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points in 37 games as a freshman last season in helping the Eagles to the 2024-25 Hockey East regular-season championship. He also scored a game-winning goal against Bentley in the NCAA tournament, as BC ultimately finished one win short of making a second straight Frozen Four.

Logan Hensler (Wisconsin) was taken 23rd overall by the Ottawa Senators. A 6-foot-2 defenseman from Woodbury, Minn., Hensler collected 2-10—12 points in 32 games last season with the Badgers.

Will Horcoff (Michigan) was tabbed at 24th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. A 6-foot-4 center from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and the son of former Michigan State and NHL player Shawn Horcoff, he recorded 4-6—10 points in 18 appearances last season with the Wolverines.

Sascha Boumedienne (Boston University) was picked 28th overall by the Winnipeg Jets. A 6-foot-1 defenseman from Stockholm, Boumedienne registered 3-10—13 points in 40 outings in helping the Terriers to their third straight Frozen Four and first NCAA title game since 2009.

Cullen Potter (Arizona State) was chosen by the Calgary Flames with the 32nd and final selection of the first round. A 5-foot-10 center from Hortonville, Wisc., and the son of four-time U.S. Olympian and former Minnesota-Duluth skater Jenny Potter, and former Minnesota forward Rob Potter, he registered 13-9—22 points 35 contests last season with the Sun Devils.

The draft concludes on Saturday with Rounds 2-7.

ADDENDUM: The full list of college-related players drafted on both days can be found here.

USA Blanks Denmark in 2025 Worlds Opener

Seattle's Matty Beniers (Michigan) scored twice in Team USA's 5-0 win over co-host Denmark yesterday to open the 2025 IIHF Men's World Championship in Herning, Denmark. 

Anaheim's Cutter Gauthier (Boston College) and Boston's Mason Lohrei (Ohio State) each had a goal and an assist, as Utah's Michael Kesselring (Northeastern) set up both of their goals. Seattle's Joey Daccord (Arizona State) stopped all 26 shots he faced for the shutout.

The United States will next take on Hungary on Sunday at 6:20 a.m. ET (NHL Network), also at Jyske Bank Boxen.

ADDENDUM: The U.S blanked Hungary, 6-0, but then lost to Switzerland, 3-0. 

U.S. Wins 2025 U-18 Bronze Medal

Arizona State commit Ben Kevan scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the United States to a 4-3 victory over Slovakia in the 2025 IIHF U-18 Men's World Championship bronze medal game yesterday in Frisco, Texas. 

Will Moore, a Boston College commit who led all U.S. skaters in the tournament with three goals and eight assists for 11 points, posted three assists against Slovakia. Notre Dame commit Patrick Quinlan made 23 saves in goal in the victory, and finished with a 4-1 record in the tournament.

Canada won U-18 gold for the second straight season, blanking Sweden by a 7-0 count in the title contest.

ASU Win Streak Ends, Still Atop NCHC

Arizona State's winning streak may have come to an end, but the Sun Devils remain atop the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings.

ASU's 10-game win streak, which dated back to Nov. 16, ended on Saturday with a 4-3 overtime loss to visiting North Dakota, one night after the Sun Devils bested UND by a 4-1 count at Mullett Arena. Both teams are now tied for first place in the NCHC with 19 points, with UND at 7-3-2-0 (W-L-OTW-OTL) and ASU at 6-4-1-2.

ASU (11-8-1 overall) is in its first campaign in the NCHC after spending the first nine seasons of its NCAA Division I existence as an independent. The Sun Devils are currently 14th in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the selection process for the NCAA tournament.

Sun Devils Sweep No. 1 Denver

Defending NCAA champion Denver's 21-game winning streak dating back to last season is history. The Pioneers were swept by visiting Arizona State in a pair of conference games at Magness Arena this weekend, by 3-2 and 5-2 decisions.

In Friday's meeting, ASU got two goals from Artem Shlaine, including the game-winner with 45 seconds remaining in regulation, and 30 saves from Luke Pavicich in topping DU for the first time since Nov. 10, 2023 in Tempe, Ariz. In Saturday's rematch, Shlaine scored two more goals and a second straight game-winner, while Pavicich made 26 saves for the Sun Devils, who are in their first season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference after nine seasons as an NCAA Division I independent. 

ASU (6-7-1 overall, 3-30 NCHC) returns to action this weekend at home against Minnesota-Duluth, while DU (12-2-0, 2-2-0) will visit Western Michigan, all in NCHC play.

Kraken Win 2024 Winter Classic

Joey Daccord (Arizona State) recorded the first shutout in NHL Winter Classic history on Monday when his Seattle Kraken blanked the visiting Vegas Golden Knights, 3-0, in an outdoor game at T-Mobile Park, home of MLB's Seattle Mariners.

Daccord finished with 35 saves to backstop the Kraken, who got a goal in each period on New Year's Day, including one in the second stanza from defenseman Will Borgen (St. Cloud State). Vegas forward Jack Eichel (Boston University) had five shots on goal for the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, but couldn't solve fellow Massachusetts native Daccord in front of 47,313 on-lookers.

It was the first Winter Classic appearance for either club, and the 39th outdoor game in NHL history.

NCAA Coaching Carousel Continues

The offseason NCAA men's ice hockey coaching carousel was in full swing over the past two weeks.

Foremost among all the moves made was the firing of Todd Woodcroft by Vermont, after a months-long investigation by UVM administrators concerning "inappropriate text messages" with a student at the university. Woodcroft, who registered an overall record of 20-55-9 at the helm of the Catamounts over the last four years, has been replaced by assistant coach Stephen Wiedler for the 2023-24 season. Wiedler played collegiately at Southern Maine, and was an assistant at Curry College and AIC before becoming an assistant in Vermont in 2020.

The rest of the recent coaching movements came in the assistant ranks, as also reported at USCHO.com. Alaska (Fairbanks) brought aboard former NAHL/NA3HL head coach Casey Mignone, who played collegiately at both Lebanon Valley and Westfield State. Michigan hired Mathew Deschamps (Maine) and Kevin Reiter (Alaska Anchorage) as assistant coaches, and also promoted Rob Rassey (Northeastern) to associate head coach. Colgate added Zach Badalamenti (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), while Brock Kautz (Minnesota) has joined Bemidji State.

Lastly, Arizona State associate head coach Mike Field (AIC), who has spent the last eight seasons with the Sun Devils since they joined the NCAA Division I ranks, has jumped to the major junior hockey ranks as an assistant with Everett (WHL).  Field, who has also coached at his alma mater and at Dubuque (USHL), helped ASU to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 as an independent.

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.

Bears, Firebirds Tied up in AHL Final

Mike Vecchione (Union) scored two goals, and also helped set up the game-winner by Ethen Frank (Western Michigan) as the Hershey Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 3-2, on Thursday night in Game Four of the 2023 Calder Cup Final at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. The best-of-seven AHL championship series is now knotted at two games apiece, with the home team having won each of the four previous contests. 

A member of Union's 2014 NCAA championship team, Vecchione scored Hershey's first two goals, the first on a power play to open the game, and the second one breaking a 1-1 tie early in the second period. Frank, who tallied 30 goals during the 2022-23 AHL regular season, then connected late in the middle stanza for the game-winner for Hershey, the primary affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals. The Bears are seeking their 12th Calder Cup overall, and first since claiming back-to-back crowns in 2009 and 2010. Hunter Sheppard (Minnesota-Duluth), who won consecutive NCAA titles in 2018 and 2019 with UMD, stopped 21 shots to earn the win in goal for Hershey.

Austin Poganski (North Dakota) scored the first goal for the AHL Western Conference champion Firebirds, who are in their inaugural season, and are the affiliate of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. Joey Daccord (Arizona State) made 25 stops in defeat for Coachella Valley.

Game Five is tonight in Hershey at 8 p.m. ET, while Game Six will be contested at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Ca. on Monday at 10 p.m. ET. Both games will be televised on NHL Network.

ADDENDUM: Hershey took Game Five in overtime, 1-0, while Coachella Valley rallied for a 5-2 victory in Game Six. The deciding Game Seven will be contested on Wednesday, June 21, at 10 p.m. ET at Acrisure Arena, with the winner claiming the Calder Cup.

NCAA Highlights for Thanskgiving 2022

 

It was quite a Thanksgiving weekend in NCAA Division I men's hockey ...

- Cornell blanked UConn, 6-0, at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday night in its semi-annual Frozen Apple game in Manhattan. Dalton Bancroft scored three goals and Ian Shane stopped all 27 shots he faced for the victorious Big Red.

- No. 9 Harvard (7-1-1 overall) became the last NCAA Division I men's team to suffer a loss this season, a 4-1 setback at No. 5 Michigan on Saturday. The two schools played to a 4-4 tie the night before in Ann Arbor.

- LIU earned its first-ever victory against a ranked opponent with a 3-2 triumph over visiting No. 12 Ohio State on Friday. Former Michigan State forward Adam Goodsir tallied the game-winning goal in the third period, although OSU rebounded for a 4-1 win the next night to salvage a split.

- Speaking of Michigan State, the No. 16 Spartans swept former CCHA foe Miami by 5-3 and 4-0 counts in Oxford, Ohio. Dylan St. Cyr stopped 69 shots on the weekend for MSU, including 39 saves in the shutout victory.

- No. 2 Minnesota and Arizona State split a series at the latter's brand-new Mullet Arena in Tempe. Minnesota won the opener, 3-2, as Logan Cooley set up one goal and then scored the game-winner for the Golden Gophers. The host Sun Devils responded the following evening with a 6-5 victory in overtime as former Boston University forward Robert Mastrosimone connected in the extra session.

- Two teams of Tigers split a non-conference series in Rochester, N.Y. RIT defeated visiting Princeton, 5-3, on Friday as Carter Wilkie scored twice and assisted on another goal for the hosts. Princeton came back the next night to record a 5-0 shutout win behind 23 saves from Ethan Pearson.

- Last but not least, defending NCAA champion Denver (10-4-0 overall) retained the top spot in the DCU/USCHO Division I Men's Poll this week, after a series split with Omaha. The visiting Mavericks won, 3-0, the first night on Jake Kucharski's 22 saves before host DU came back with a 6-3 triumph on Saturday.

ASU, Lindenwood Record Milestone Victories

It was a tale of two firsts on Friday night in men's college ice hockey.

First, independent Arizona State University christened its brand-new, on-campus, 5,000-seat Mullet Arena with a 2-0 victory over visiting Colgate. Josh Doan, son of retired longtime NHL player Shane Doan, scored the first-ever goal in the new facility, which will also house the NHL's Arizona Coyotes over the next few years. Northeastern transfer TJ Semptimphelter earned the shutout on 30 saves for the host Sun Devils, who played their first seven NCAA Division I seasons out of the 747-seat Oceanside Arena.

That same evening in St. Charles, Mo., some 1,450 miles east, fellow independent Lindenwood University earned its first-ever win as an NCAA Division I program with a 7-6 triumph over visiting Air Force. Ryan Finnegan notched the game-winning goal late in regulation, while Trent Burnham made 39 stops for the Lions, like ASU a former ACHA Division I club power.

2022-23 NCAA Hockey Season Underway

Just under six months after Denver was crowned the Division I men's national champion in Boston, the 2022-23 NCAA hockey season is underway.

The Pioneers opened the new season on Saturday with a 10-0 exhibition victory at home over UNLV, although things actually got underway on Sept. 23 when Alaska Anchorage returned to action after a two-year hiatus with a 1-0 exhibition loss to visiting Simon Fraser, 6-0. A day later, Alaska (Fairbanks) blanked SFU, 6-0.  

In CCHA play, Bowling Green split a two-game series with Northern Michigan, while Miami posted a win and a tie against Ferris State. In Hockey East, UConn swept Vermont in a pair of contests, while Minnesota-Duluth did the same to Arizona State in non-conference action.

The Division I women's game made its season debut on Sept. 17 when Syracuse topped Union, Quinnipiac edged UConn, and Maine defeated New Brunswick. As of Oct. 3, defending national champion Ohio State (2-0-0) was in first place in the USCHO.com women's poll.

Augustana, ASU Moving Forward with New Arenas

Last week, Augustana University broke ground on its new arena in Sioux Falls, S.D. that will host an NCAA Division I men's hockey team. The Vikings are slated to begin play at the 3,000-seat Midco Arena in 2023-24.

Late last month, Arizona State University announced that it had finished topping off its own new facility. The hockey Sun Devils are scheduled to move in to the as-yet-unnamed 5,000 seat arena in Tempe, Ariz. beginning with the 2022-23 campaign.

Daccord, Johnson Done for Current NHL Campaign

A pair of former NCAA stars are done for the 2020-21 NHL season.

Ottawa goaltender Joey Daccord (Arizona State) suffered a lower-body injury in the Senators' 3-2 loss to Vancouver on St. Patrick's Day, while New York Rangers defenseman Jack Johnson (Michigan) underwent season-ending core-muscle surgery two days later.

Daccord made his NHL debut in April 2019, shortly after backstopping independent Arizona State to its first-ever NCAA tournament berth. He earned his first NHL victory on March 14 with 33 saves in a 4-3 win over Toronto, and finished 1-3-1 this season with a 3.27 goals-against average in six starts. 

In three seasons at ASU, Daccord went 32-40-7 with a 3.07 GAA and eight shutouts. As a junior for the Sun Devils in 2018-19, he finished 21-13-1 with seven shutouts before turning pro with Ottawa, who drafted him 199th overall in 2015 out of Cushing Academy in his native Massachusetts.

Longtime pro blueliner Johnson, from Indianapolis, has notched 71 goals and 232 assists for 303 points to go with 529 penalty minutes in 950 career NHL regular-season outings with Los Angeles, Columbus, Pittsburgh and the Rangers since turning pro in 2007. He also has five goals and 21 points in 30 career Stanley Cup playoff contests.

Originally drafted third overall by Carolina in 2005, Johnson skated for two seasons at Michigan, notching 26-45—71 points and 236 PIM in 74 games. He also earned CCHA All-Rookie Team accolades as a freshman, and First Team All-America status as a sophomore, while also helping the Wolverines to a pair of NCAA tournament berths before signing with Los Angeles.