Arizona State hockey off to best start in program history

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State hockey is off to the best start in program history. The Sun Devils are 4-0, and picked up sweeps in their first two series. And just for good measure, prior to their regular season matchups, they opened their 2023 season with an exhibition. ASU faced off against rival Arizona. The Sun Devils dominated, winning 16-0.

That was just a sign of success to come.

Arizona State hockey is off to their best start in program history

Arizona State hockey began their season with a sweep over Merrimack. Merrimack was ranked No. 15 at the time of the matchups, and both of the contests in Tempe were thrillers.

Arizona State won game one with the Warriors in overtime, 1-0.

The Sun Devils won the second matchup in the series, 4-2. ASU scored three goals in the third period to cement the victory.

Often times in college athletics teams will have letdown games following big wins. After a sweep over a ranked team, that was a concern for the Sun Devils. Especially since both of the games were close, intense contests.

However, there was no let-down for Arizona State. The Sun Devils dominated a series against Northern Michigan. Over the span of two games, Arizona State outscored the Wildcats 8-3. That was the second sweep of the season for ASU and helped propel them to the best start in program history.

Sun Devils getting national recognition

After the first four games of the season, Arizona State hockey is getting national attention. The Sun Devils found themselves ranked No. 13 in the USCHO rankings (United States College Hockey Online).

They also gained respect in the Pairwise rankings, shooting all the way up to No.3 in the country. The Pairwise rankings are computer generated using data, so as more games progress, and there’s a larger sample size, it’ll significantly change.

“The PairWise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament. The PWR compares all teams by these criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, and the RPI,” the USCHO website describes Pairwise.

It’s very early on in the season, but it’s nice to see an Arizona State team garnering national respect.

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