Two Arizona State hockey players awarded multiple NCHC honors

Arizona State hockey had a season to remember despite it ending on such a sour note. The No. 11-ranked Sun Devils finished second in the regular season standings in its first year as a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) but fell in the Frozen Faceoff semifinal to rival Denver.

The team also fell just short of the 16-team NCAA Tournament field due to an insufficient ranking by PairWise (16), the metric used to determine qualification for the national postseason.

However, individual bright spots deserve recognition and one player earned just that.

Artem Shlaine, Ty Murchison earn NCHC honors

Graduate student forward Artem Shlaine was named to the NCHC's Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team on Monday, the only Sun Devil to earn the prestigious honor.

The Moscow, Russia native was ASU's second-highest scorer this season with 38 points (31 goals, 17 assists). He scored three goals across the team's conference tournament run, including the game-tying goal in the second period against Denver on Friday.

Shlaine was also the recipient of the NCHC's Three Stars Award on Thursday ahead of the semifinal, given to the player who earned the most "three stars points" for being named one of the three stars of a game during the regular season. Shlaine was named first star four separate times this year.

Senior defenseman Ty Murchison was also named the NCHC's Defensive Defenseman of the Year. It's a rather repetitive distinction but still a notable honor.

Murchison recorded just four points this season (four assists) and a +6 plus/minus rating, but his 91 blocked shots were 23 more than the next nearest player in the conference. Murchison was selected by the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers in the fifth round of the 2021 draft but has not yet signed a contract.