Are you ready for it?
No, I'm not talking about the upcoming Taylor Swift album drop. We have reached College Hockey Eve, and celebration is encouraged.
Last season, the Sun Devils made the most of their roster despite never playing a single game fully healthy. The first time the Devils were to take to the ice fully healthy on January 31st at Miami, Benji Eckerle suffered a freak injury to his Achilles and was lost for the season. In total the Sun Devils missed 88 man games due to injury or illness, headlined by 18 games missed by Cruz Lucius to start the season. Other notable totals were Eckerle (13 games), Dylan Jackson (12 games), Ryan Alexander and Artem Shlaine (6 games each).
Thankfully, Cruz Lucius is listed as healthy to start this season, with Coach Powers noting optimism and expectation for him to perform to the levels he did at Wisconsin before transferring to Arizona State last season. He averaged just under a point per game in two seasons at Wisconsin (24 G-44 A-68 P in 70 games) before being limited to 2 goals and 8 assists for 10 points in 19 games in 2024-25.
Breaking: Defenseman Brasen Boser will be out to start the 2025-26 season with an undisclosed injury. Not believed to be a long term injury.@CollegePucksC2C @Devils_Detail
— Let’s Mullett Over (@LetsMullettOver) October 1, 2025
The only injury to note for the start of this season is defenseman Brasen Boser. On Tuesday's Hell Frozen Over radio show, Coach Powers stated that Boser will miss at least the first four games of the season with an undisclosed injury, stating that he hopes the worst case scenario has him returning when conference play opens on October 31st at Miami.
For Penn State, sophomore Keaton Peters will be sidelined for the season after undergoing knee surgery and will medically redshirt this season. Top defenseman Cade Christenson will also be out against the Sun Devils with an undisclosed injury that head coach Guy Gadowsky believes will keep him out until at least Christmas.
The Sun Devils and Nittany Lions will face off this weekend from Mullett Arena, Friday's opener at 7pm and Saturday at 5pm. Both games will air on local TV in the Phoenix market (Friday on Fox 10, Saturday on Fox 10 Xtra - My45). For fans outside Arizona, the games will air nationally on NHL Network, and stream globally on the NHL's YouTube channel.