Augustana Vikings present the first road test of the season for the Sun Devils

After securing the Ice Breaker championship last weekend, the 2-2-0 Sun Devils will hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a series with the Vikings of Augustana.

In their third year as a Division I program, head coach Garrett Raboin has quickly turned the Vikings into a contender in the CCHA. It comes as no surprise given his pedigree as an assistant coach for 10 seasons between St. Cloud State and Minnesota before getting his first head coaching position.

In just the second season in program history, Coach Raboin led the Vikings to an 18-13-4 record and the No. 2 seed in the 2025 CCHA Tournament before getting upset by the No. 7 seeded Bemidji State Beavers. This season being the first season as a full member of the CCHA, the Vikings will be setting their sights to surpass their already lofty achievements for a young program.

Goaltender Josh Kotai returns for his junior season after a 17-10-3 record with an impressive 1.92 goals against average and .936 save percentage, both good for third in the CCHA last season. He was named Second Team All-CCHA, and was a semifinalist for the 2025 Mike Richter Award for best goaltender.

Playing in front of Kotai will be a very accomplished set of defensemen. The Vikings lost three of their defensemen from last season but return their top three scorers from the blue line in Hayden Hennen (3 G-12 A-15 P), Easton Young (3 G-10 A-13 P), and Owen Baumgartner (2 G-9 A-11 P). Hennen added extra value in his shot blocking ability (56 blocks last season), and finished 4th on the team with a plus-9 rating. Sophomore Carter Theissen can be expected to step up and play a greater role after appearing in only 6 games last season.

Augustana recruited some much needed size on the blue line in the offseason, notably in freshman Max Chakrabarti. In 73 games last season with the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Max showed offensive prowess with 18 goals and 39 assists for a total of 57 points. Landon Fandel and Samo Meritähi will round out the new additions on defense.

Hennen will serve as part of Augustana's leadership group alongside junior captain Hunter Bischoff, seen as the offensive centerpiece of the roster. Coming off a 23 point season last year (10 G-13 A), he is already off to a fast start with two goals in Saturday's win at Minnesota Duluth. He tied for the team lead in scoring with Brett Meerman (7 G-16 A-23 P). Senior Colton Friesen returns after a 17 point campaign (7 G-10 A), and like Bischoff is off to a two point start last weekend with a goal and an assist. Joey DelGreco will look to improve on his freshman output of 7 G-7 A-14 P, and Nace Langus and Tyler Hennen will add scoring depth among the returnees.

Junior Cole Burtch comes in from CCHA foe Ferris State after putting up 7 G-19 A-26 P in 35 games for the Bulldogs last season, headlining the new faces on offense for the Vikings. He will be joined by freshmen Jacob Jastrzebski (12 G-18 A-30 P in 67 games in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers) and Leo Bulgakov (49 G-47 A-96 P in 113 games with the Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL). Bulgakov brings international experience, scoring 8 points in 7 games with for Belarus' U18 team.

Arizona State has faced the Vikings just once in program history, splitting a weekend series at Mullett Arena during the 2023-24 season. Augustana will be looking to secure a signature win or two against a high caliber NCHC team, something the Sun Devils cannot overlook in their preparation.

Friday's game will be a 5pm puck drop, with Saturday coming an hour earlier at 4pm. Both games will air locally on Fox 10 Xtra and stream on Midco Sports Plus. Stay tuned the rest of the week as we bring you all the news and updates leading up to puck drop.