Arizona State Hockey Falls Short of First Victory of Season

TEMPE -- the 14th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devil hockey program fell to 0-2 on the season after falling in the second half of a back-to-back against 5th-ranked Penn State on Saturday night in Tempe.

Greg Powers has done an exceptional job of turning his alma mater and a once small-time program into one to be recognized on a national level over the last 10 years - the Sun Devils fell just short of reaching the D1 tournament last March, but finished the 2024-25 season ranked 16th.

wefewfef — Oct 4, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Nic Chin-DeGraves (71) shoots and scores against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the third period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Sun Devils opened the season against Penn State - and likely number one overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft in Gavin McKenna - on Friday night, falling 6-3 in a game that was much closely contested than what the final score would indicate.

On Saturday night, the Sun Devils got another shot to secure their first victory on the season against a serious national contender in the Nittany Lions.

ibuo — Oct 3, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State forward Cullen Potter (12) and Penn State Nittany Lions forward Aiden Fink (18) chase a puck during the first period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

A brief recap of the game is below.

The first period was a scoreless affair between the two squads, with strong defense and goaltending being the outcome of the first 20 minutes.

The Sun Devils came alive in the second period, as Bennett Schimek and Cruz St. Lucius scored a goal each in the first 15 minutes of the second set of 20 minutes to take a 2-0 lead.

wefe — Oct 4, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions goalie Kevin Reidler (35) track play against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the third period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Penn State stormed back with two goals within three minutes of each other to tie the game at 2.

Mckenna then scored the eventual game-winning goal with just under two minutes remaining in regulation, which was eventually added onto by an empty-net goal with seven seconds remaining.

All in all, the Sun Devils were outscored 10-5 this weekend, although the team played much better against a top-five opponent in the nation than the score would indicate.

knn — October 14, 2022; Tempe, Ariz; USA; ASU hockey head coach Greg Powers speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony at Mullett Arena. Ncaa Hockey Asu Hockey Opening Night At Mullett Arena Colgate At Asu | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Now, Arizona State and Powers are set to revisit the drawing board and seek to find ways to get back to their winning ways following a 21-win season last year that also featured a slow start. The first-ever first-round pick in the NHL draft in Cullen Potter, will surely play a role in the turnaround moving forward.

The next opportunity to catch Arizona State hockey in action is this coming Friday, when the program welcomes Notre Dame to Mullett Arena in the "Ice Breaker Tournament," in which Quinnipiac and Alaska-Fairbanks will also be participating.

Oct 4, 2025; Tempe, AZ, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions goalie Kevin Reidler (35) track play against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the third period at Mullett Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Read more on major takeaways from Arizona State's clutch-time victory over TCU here, and more on why Arizona State fans should be feeling confident about the outlook of the season following the win here.

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