Sun Devil faithful treated to another in season tournament win

On a night that was filled with disappointment in one area of Sun Devil Athletics, our hockey team helped to change the vibe by bringing home the Ice Breaker trophy with a 5-2 win over Alaska last night.

This marked the 4th straight in season tournament that the Sun Devils have won, taking home trophies in the 2023 Adirondack Winter Invitational, followed by back-to-back Desert Hockey Classic titles in 2024 and 2025.

The tournament win brings the Devils to 2-2 on the young season and should at least assure them of not falling in the new USCHO rankings coming out tomorrow morning.

Four games is not a huge sample size to project for the full season, but from my vantage point in Section 106, there was marked improvement in several areas of gameplay this weekend.

Power Play

Through three games, the Sun Devils were abysmal on the power play, going just 1-for-17 in that opening stretch. Whatever head coach Greg Powers said to the team in postgame comments on Friday and Saturday’s practice clearly resonated, as all five goals were scored with the man advantage, bringing the cumulative total to 6-for-26 (23.1%) on the season. For perspective, the average PP% nationally for 2024-25 was 19.7%, with the Sun Devils leading the way with 29.6%. The next couple of series will tell whether this performance is sustainable or simply just a brief bounce.

Cruz Lucius

Much has been made about the play of Cruz Lucius since transferring from Wisconsin coming in to the 2024-25 season. Averaging nearly a point per game (24 G-44 A-68 P in 70 games) for the Badgers, Lucius was hampered by an off-ice training injury that limited him to 19 games in his debut season in Tempe. After returning, he looked sluggish and never 100% healthy, and that level of play continued for the first three games of this season.

Last night provided the first glimpse of the player that we were expecting to see, registering his first career hat trick and first multi-point game since February 28th at Omaha. It’s too early in the season to tell, but the hope is that this is the sign of more good things to come in Lucius’ senior season.

Crandell-Potter-Kevan Line

While they didn’t show up on the stat sheet on Saturday, this speed line produced 5 points in Friday’s win (3 G-2 A). Potter and Kevan have experience playing on a line together from the 2025 World Juniors Summer Showcase, and it seemed like only a matter of time before they would be matched up together. Freshman Carmelo Crandell showed he was more than up to the task of keeping up with these speedsters. Coach Powers looks like he has caught lightning in a bottle with this line combination, one that I hope will continue to be present throughout the season.

By The Numbers

·      Kyle Smolen recorded his 50th career point in the win, his second straight multi-point game.

·      5 power play goals tied a program for most in a single game, equaling the mark set in a 7-2 win at Omaha in 2018.

·      Cruz Lucius’ first goal marked his 80th career point between Wisconsin and ASU.

·      Logan Morrell recorded his second straight multi-point game, the second time in his career he’s had back-to-back multi-point efforts (December 13-14 at Bemidji State while with Michigan Tech).

The Road Ahead

The Sun Devils will hit the road this weekend, playing their first games in the state of South Dakota against Augustana on October 17-18. They will hit the road again after a bye week, opening NCHC play at Miami on October 31-November 1 before returning to the friendly confines of Mullett Arena for the NCHC home opening series against Colorado College on November 7-8.