TEMPE, AZ – The No. 16/19 Sun Devil Hockey (4-1-1) team returns to the desert this weekend on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4 at Mullett Arena against Stonehill (0-7-0). This series marks the first time the two programs faceoff on the ice as Stonehill was recently elevated to a NCAA Division I program. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. MST for both games. Fans can watch the free ASU Live Stream or listen on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
Despite meeting for the first time this weekend, not everything between the two benches is unfamiliar. Arizona State assistant coach Dana Borges is the son of Stonehill head coach David Borges and the nephew of Stonehill's assistant coach Darrell Borges. It is the first time that the father-son duo has coached against each other.
ASU split its series against Miami (Ohio) last weekend with an overtime loss on Friday and a thrilling shootout win on Saturday. The Sun Devils moved to 1-1-1 in overtime play this season.
The Sun Devils are currently undefeated at home, sweeping then-No. 15 Merrimack and Northern Michigan in back-to-back series, giving the team its best start in program history.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its third-straight week in the national polls. Last week, ASU jumped five spots to No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll, the largest shift in the week's poll. The Sun Devils retained their top 20 spot at No. 16 this week after last weekend's results. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
HOME RUN WITH HOMER
Sophomore goaltender Gibson Homer made his NCAA debut last weekend at Miami and helped seal the shootout victory for the Sun Devils with 23 saves throughout the night. Homer comes from the USA Hockey Development Team and the USHL's Chicago Steel and is the program's 13th goaltender to wear the maroon and gold.
"There's a lot of confidence actually, like, even though it's been over a year since my last game, like just the trust that the guys had in me and the trust that I had in them, you know, just built a lot of confidence in the locker room," said Homer.
"There's not a set ratio but Gibby's worked hard, really hard and he earned it," said head coach Greg Powers. "He went in and we had a tremendous amount of confidence that he would go in and get the job done and he did and now he has that, that genuine inner confidence, which is great."
SUPER SILLINGER
Senior forward and alternate captain Lukas Sillinger has become a crucial key to the Sun Devils' offense. His goal against Miami on Saturday extended his point streak to five games. The senior has tallied three assists and three goals so far this season and shows no signs of slowing down. His five-game streak ties at fourth in all ASU skater point-scoring streaks. The longest streak is nine games set by Josh Doan from Feb. 4, March 11, 2023. Sillinger transferred to Arizona State as a junior last season after two years at Bemidji State and logged 21 points with nine goals and 12 assists.
BATTLE OF THE INDEPENDENTS
ASU competes in its final independent season in 2023-24 before moving into the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in July 2024. Success against the other independent programs on ASU's schedule is crucial in the chase for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Sun Devils hold an all-time record of 13-10-1 against other independent programs including Alaska, Alaska Anchorage, Lindenwood, and Long Island.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head coach Greg Powers
On Stonehill:
"They're a new program. They're gonna be excited to be here. You know they're doing what we did, they've got to travel and they'll play everybody and anybody that will play them. Coming in this week, they're on some short rest. They played Sunday, Monday this week. and then they travel out here on Thursday so we hopefully can catch them. But they're gonna be excited to be here and we're gonna get the very best in that."
On putting guys in the rotation who haven't been put in yet:
"Potentially, I mean, as an independent, you have to treat every game like it's a playoff game. So, do I wanna get some guys that haven't gotten in? Yes, but that's not certainly because we're taking this opponent lightly. It's more to keep guys engaged and guys are earning that in practice more and more every day that haven't gotten in and that has to mean something. So we're gonna put a lot of stock in practice this week and that's gonna comprise what the lineup is gonna look like Friday night."
On the defensive core:
"Yeah, I mean, defensively, we've been great, you know, we held them to within one goal, Saturday and then the shot count was great. The chances against were great. But, even Friday, you know, with 13 minutes left in the game, it was one goal. So defensively we're bought in, we're doing what we need to do. I thought on neutral ice we were really sloppy on Friday and then we completely dialed it in on Saturday and it made a huge difference. So guys are bought in and systematically how we need to play and just how we want to play. Now we just have to do it, you know, every game."
On being home for a while:
"I mean, we're here for a month. I don't think we've ever had an eight game home stand. You know, it's very rare in college hockey, so we're gonna enjoy it and embrace it and continue to fight like hell to protect home ice and make this a really good home ice advantage like we did at Oceanside."
Goaltender Gibson Homer
On his first collegiate game:
"Unbelievable. Yeah, I mean, it goes down as a tie but, you know, it felt like a win to me and the locker room felt like a win, the support that they all, they all showed for me."
On the goals as a team heading into the weekend:
"Just continue to play our game. I mean, our teams had a lot of success so far this year. So we're playing the right way and we know what we have to do, you know, win. So we're just gonna keep doing what we're doing."
Despite meeting for the first time this weekend, not everything between the two benches is unfamiliar. Arizona State assistant coach Dana Borges is the son of Stonehill head coach David Borges and the nephew of Stonehill's assistant coach Darrell Borges. It is the first time that the father-son duo has coached against each other.
ASU split its series against Miami (Ohio) last weekend with an overtime loss on Friday and a thrilling shootout win on Saturday. The Sun Devils moved to 1-1-1 in overtime play this season.
The Sun Devils are currently undefeated at home, sweeping then-No. 15 Merrimack and Northern Michigan in back-to-back series, giving the team its best start in program history.
RANKED DEVILS
ASU continues its third-straight week in the national polls. Last week, ASU jumped five spots to No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll, the largest shift in the week's poll. The Sun Devils retained their top 20 spot at No. 16 this week after last weekend's results. The highest national poll ranking ever received by the Sun Devils was No. 9 on Feb. 17, 2020 in the 2019-20 season.
Still rocking with the best ?? #BeTheTradition pic.twitter.com/Ks9Wkd0vDj
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 30, 2023
HOME RUN WITH HOMER
Sophomore goaltender Gibson Homer made his NCAA debut last weekend at Miami and helped seal the shootout victory for the Sun Devils with 23 saves throughout the night. Homer comes from the USA Hockey Development Team and the USHL's Chicago Steel and is the program's 13th goaltender to wear the maroon and gold.
"There's a lot of confidence actually, like, even though it's been over a year since my last game, like just the trust that the guys had in me and the trust that I had in them, you know, just built a lot of confidence in the locker room," said Homer.
"There's not a set ratio but Gibby's worked hard, really hard and he earned it," said head coach Greg Powers. "He went in and we had a tremendous amount of confidence that he would go in and get the job done and he did and now he has that, that genuine inner confidence, which is great."
SUPER SILLINGER
Senior forward and alternate captain Lukas Sillinger has become a crucial key to the Sun Devils' offense. His goal against Miami on Saturday extended his point streak to five games. The senior has tallied three assists and three goals so far this season and shows no signs of slowing down. His five-game streak ties at fourth in all ASU skater point-scoring streaks. The longest streak is nine games set by Josh Doan from Feb. 4, March 11, 2023. Sillinger transferred to Arizona State as a junior last season after two years at Bemidji State and logged 21 points with nine goals and 12 assists.
BATTLE OF THE INDEPENDENTS
ASU competes in its final independent season in 2023-24 before moving into the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in July 2024. Success against the other independent programs on ASU's schedule is crucial in the chase for an NCAA Tournament berth. The Sun Devils hold an all-time record of 13-10-1 against other independent programs including Alaska, Alaska Anchorage, Lindenwood, and Long Island.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Head coach Greg Powers
On Stonehill:
"They're a new program. They're gonna be excited to be here. You know they're doing what we did, they've got to travel and they'll play everybody and anybody that will play them. Coming in this week, they're on some short rest. They played Sunday, Monday this week. and then they travel out here on Thursday so we hopefully can catch them. But they're gonna be excited to be here and we're gonna get the very best in that."
On putting guys in the rotation who haven't been put in yet:
"Potentially, I mean, as an independent, you have to treat every game like it's a playoff game. So, do I wanna get some guys that haven't gotten in? Yes, but that's not certainly because we're taking this opponent lightly. It's more to keep guys engaged and guys are earning that in practice more and more every day that haven't gotten in and that has to mean something. So we're gonna put a lot of stock in practice this week and that's gonna comprise what the lineup is gonna look like Friday night."
On the defensive core:
"Yeah, I mean, defensively, we've been great, you know, we held them to within one goal, Saturday and then the shot count was great. The chances against were great. But, even Friday, you know, with 13 minutes left in the game, it was one goal. So defensively we're bought in, we're doing what we need to do. I thought on neutral ice we were really sloppy on Friday and then we completely dialed it in on Saturday and it made a huge difference. So guys are bought in and systematically how we need to play and just how we want to play. Now we just have to do it, you know, every game."
On being home for a while:
"I mean, we're here for a month. I don't think we've ever had an eight game home stand. You know, it's very rare in college hockey, so we're gonna enjoy it and embrace it and continue to fight like hell to protect home ice and make this a really good home ice advantage like we did at Oceanside."
Goaltender Gibson Homer
On his first collegiate game:
"Unbelievable. Yeah, I mean, it goes down as a tie but, you know, it felt like a win to me and the locker room felt like a win, the support that they all, they all showed for me."
On the goals as a team heading into the weekend:
"Just continue to play our game. I mean, our teams had a lot of success so far this year. So we're playing the right way and we know what we have to do, you know, win. So we're just gonna keep doing what we're doing."