What to Know About Arizona State's 5-0 Victory at Lindenwood in Hockey Opener
It has been 216 days since the Ice Devils were last in action. A 2025-2026 season that ended in losing fashion left ASU out of postseason play, making the wait longer than usual.
On Friday, Oct. 2, the Devils returned to the ice, traveling to Missouri to take on the Lindenwood Lions at Centene Community Ice Center.
ASU took down the Lions 5-0, notching their first win in a season opener since 2024. They will now look for their first season-opening series win since 2023.
But how did the Devils put together such a commanding victory? Here is everything you need to know from ASU's Friday victory:
Powered By The Power Play
ASU started and ended their night in the same fashion: success from their power play unit.
Junior Ben Muthersbaugh scored the first goal of the season, and the night, on a power-play goal at 16:47 in the first period.
Fast forward to the end of the game and the Sun Devils found themselves with a 4-0 lead. In the waning moments of the night, Sophomore Daniel Shlaine put away another ASU power-play goal to cap off the 5-0 night.
The most glaring man-advantage stat of the night? Lindenwood's 0-for-5 finish on power plays. There were a combined 14 penalties in this contest, but the Lions weren't able to cash in on their opportunities to catch ASU on the scoreboard.
O Captain, My Captain
It was a busy night for ASU Hockey's leadership group.
Senior captain Kyle Smolen led the charge with a second-period goal. Now in his second year with the "C" on his jersey, Smolen's opening-night score puts him at 27 goals all-time with ASU. One more goal (28) will put him in a tie with Buffalo Sabres star and ASU alum Josh Doan for fourth all-time.
Regarding the alternate captains, the aforementioned Ben Muthersbaugh joined Smolen on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Sean McGurn, Jack Beck and Logan Morell all contributed an assist.
All five of ASU's captains/alternate captains left the ice on Friday with at least one point on the stat sheet, now with a chance to sweep the weekend in the Midwest.
Sam I Am
Sophomore goaltender Samuel Urban left his mark on Friday night, pitching a shutout in net for the Sun Devils in the 5-0 win.
Urban outdueled Lindenwood's Liam Beerman, finishing with 37 saves and no goals to Beerman's 32 saves and four goals allowed.
37 appears to be a magic number for Urban. The Slovakian's first collegiate shutout came on a 37-save night against Miami-Ohio in January.
Urban's second collegiate goose egg marked the third-ever shutout for ASU in a season opener.
The Sun Devils will hope for similar success on Saturday afternoon, going for the sweep in Missouri at Centene Community Ice Center. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. MST.
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Dan Allison is a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, graduating Cum Laude in Sports Journalism. He currently works for the Rio Rancho Observer and the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico and has covering high school sports in both New Mexico and Arizona and he is a contributor to High School On SI. He began contributing to Arizona State Sun Devils On SI in 2026.