Everything To Know Ahead of Arizona State's Home Opener on Friday
Arizona State hockey finally hit the ice a weekend ago and was able to earn a split against Independent Lindenwood on the road. A strong start in game one with a 5-0 shutout by Samuel Urban turned sour in game two, with a 9-6 defeat to the Lions. They turn their attention back home, where Holy Cross will come to Tempe to open the home non-conference slate. Here's what you need to know.
Takeaways From Opening Weekend
Despite the 1-1 record leaving Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO, the Sun Devils can't be too upset with their performance. In the opening-night shutout, Arizona State's special teams were fantastic, going 2/5 on the power play with 8 shots on goal, and held Lindenwood to 0/5 on the power play. They were able to get a lead and hold it, which is exactly the script that they want to replicate in the series against Holy Cross.
In game two, however, there was plenty to clean up. They allowed three goals in the first five minutes to fall behind quickly, and did so again late in the 2nd period, allowing four straight goals in under six minutes. These types of blitzes can bury a team's chances, whether they come when trying to protect a lead late, mount a comeback, or even just in the middle of a matchup. Beyond that, seven goals allowed with the goaltender in net, and nine total, is an unsustainable method of play, regardless of the offensive firepower shown in the first weekend.
There were some bright spots in game two, as the Sun Devils showed resilience. After three unanswered goals, Arizona State bounced right back with four of their own to take the lead for the first time in the game. They also brought it back to a one-goal game with 15 minutes left in the 3rd period, despite having given up seven goals to that point. The offense, averaging 5.5 goals per game through two games, has been extremely impressive and will try to continue the momentum back home.
A Look At The Opposition
Holy Cross will travel cross-country for this non-conference matchup from Worcester, MA. This is their first visit to Tempe or Mullett Arena, as the previous three matchups have been played in Worcester. They finished fourth in the Atlantic Hockey America conference a season ago.
The Crusaders opened the season at home against Maine, splitting with the Black Bears. They fell in the opener, 4-1, before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory in overtime. In game one, they scored their lone goal shorthanded, but also allowed two power-play goals. The second matchup saw all but one goal come at even strength. The Crusaders went 1-9 on the power play and 9-11 on the penalty kill.
The advantage the Sun Devils will look to capitalize on is the defense of Holy Cross. The Crusaders allowed 58 shots over the two games and took nine minor penalties. If Arizona State can continue its offensive level from a week ago, the goal horn could get plenty of use at Mullett Arena.
How To Watch: Streaming, Radio, Stats
The Sun Devils, now in their third season in the NCHC, will be streaming live on the conference's online broadcast service, NCHC.tv, for both contests. This is a subscription-based model and will stream the majority of Sun Devil games this season. For those in the Valley area, the game will also be on FOX 10+ on Friday at 7 pm MST, and mainline FOX 10 on Saturday at 5 pm MST, on a two-hour tape delay(Game begins at 3 pm MST). Both matchups will be live on radio on AM 910 in the Phoenix area, and live stats can be found on TheSunDevils.com.
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Fletcher Anderson is a 2025 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State, and have been reporting for newspapers and writing sports columns since 2018. He began a sports column for the Lake Minnetonka Navigator, when he was still a sophomore in high school. Since then, he has written for teams, schools, newspapers and digital sites, including Cronkite News at Arizona State. In that role he covered area high school sports as well as the Arizona State athletics. He began contributing to On SI in 2026.