Photo: Russel Hons / UND Athletics After not seeing a single movement last week, there is a major shakeup in the NCHC power rankings. Six of the nine teams that played were involved in a sweep, allowing for significant movement. 1. North Dakota (4-0, Last week’s rank: 2) North Dakota moves up a spot after sweeping Bentley in two shutouts. The Fighting Hawks visit Minnesota this week. 2. Western Michigan (4-0, Last week’s rank: 3) Western Michigan swept Notre Dame in a home-

Photo: Scott Strande/ITHSW Last season, it took three weeks for Arizona State to fall from No. 14 to out of the USCHO poll, the equivalent of the AP poll in NCAA men’s hockey. This season, it took three weeks for the Sun Devils to receive votes, and only one week under head coach Dave Hakstol. Arizona State (4-2) earned 22 points in the week three USCHO poll, placing sixth among the others receiving votes after it swept UMass-Lowell. It was 78 points behind the final team in

Photo: Sun Devil Athletics Two games, two wins. The Dave Hakstol Era is off to the most ideal start that Sun Devil Hockey fans could ask for. Arizona State completed a very successful business trip to the Tsongas Center, defeating the UMass Lowell Riverhawks by a 4-2 score on Saturday night. Just like on Friday night, the opening salvo for the Sun Devils came in the opening minutes, this time from a highly unlikely source. Sophomore defenseman Richard Baran notched the first

The lights were shining bright on the bench as new head coach Dave Hakstol returned to a college bench for the first time since a Frozen Four semifinal loss to Boston University in 2015, but the Sun Devils shined on the ice at the Tsongas Center, riding a three-goal first period outburst on the way to a 5-4 win for the new bench boss. What an outburst that first period was, as the Sun Devils jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Daniel Shlaine (4th goal in 5 games) and L

Photo: Arizona State Athletics After two tumultuous weeks of off-ice news, the Sun Devils will finally be able to take to the ice with a sense of normalcy as they hit the road for the second time this season, taking on the Riverhawks of UMass Lowell. The dominating storyline will be the debut of new head coach Dave Hakstol, returning to the college hockey level for the first time since 2015. Hakstol is a proven veteran, bringing 11 years and 289 career victories from his time

Four of the ten NCHC teams did not play last week as the season is in its infancy. That, along with results going similar to expected, means there is no movement in the power rankings. 1. Denver (2-0, Last week’s rank: 1) Denver demolished the USA Hockey Under-18 Team in an exhibition game. The Pioneers host No. 2 Michigan this week in a huge series. 2. North Dakota (2-0, Last week’s rank: 2) North Dakota swept Bemidji State last weekend. The Fighting Hawks host Bentley this

Opening faceoff of Friday's home opener. Photo: Tom Hardon On an emotionally charged Friday night, the Sun Devils hosted Holy Cross to open the home side of the 2026-27 season. Every fan in attendance received a yellow ribbon with the message "MM #27", while the coaching staff wore yellow ribbon pins with the number 27, ensuring the thoughts of everyone inside Mullett Arena were with Matthew Mayich. Once the puck hit the ice, it was all business. The Sun Devils dictated the p

Photo: Erin Hjerpe With the opening weekend split at Lindenwood in the rearview mirror, Arizona State returns to Mullett Arena for their home opener, a two game series against the Holy Cross Crusaders. This marks just the second full series between the two teams, and the first time Holy Cross has made the trip out west. Arizona State took the first series with a win and a tie in the 2017-18 season, and holds a 2-0-1 all-time record after winning the most recent matchup on Feb

Of the 63 college hockey teams throughout the nation, 33 have kicked off the 2026-27 season; six of the ten NCHC teams have started, and three others played exhibition games against fellow NCAA teams or Canadian USports teams. 1. Denver (2-0) The reigning national champions scored two wins to start the season at Alaska Anchorage, as expected. On Saturday, the Pioneers host the USA Hockey Under-18 Team in an exhibition game. 2. North Dakota (0-0) North Dakota beat Augustana a

Photo: Scott Strande/ITHSW Sophomore goaltender Samuel Urban was streaky at times in his freshman season. He allowed multiple goals in a span of a few minutes at times in games last season. At times, Urban would have streaks of games when he would average under two goals a game and others north of four. After shutting out Lindenwood Friday night, Urban’s consistency could have shown if he locked down the Lions once again, but the inconsistencies of his freshman season showed

Photo: Scott Strande/ITHSW After a tumultuous week, the burning question was how would Arizona State rise above the noise to open their season. 37 saves from Samuel Urban and five goals later, the Sun Devils came out swinging to win their first season-opening game since 2024, an 8-1 win on the road at Air Force. The first period saw a lot of back-and-forth physical play, but both goaltenders stood tall and matched each other save for save. Ben Muthersbaugh finally broke throu

Photo: Chris Tanouye/Getty Images Mere hours before puck drop on the 2026-27 season, and 43 days after the workout that led to Matthew Mayich’s collapse and hospitalization, it was announced that Arizona State University has retained an independent investigator to lead the review of the events of that August 20th workout. In the report by Katie Strang, Nathan Fenno, and Adam Kilgore of The Athletic, the university has engaged with Scott Bales, former chief justice of the Ariz

Photo: Sun Devil Athletics It has been 216 days since the Arizona State has seen game action on the ice, and how so much has changed in that timeframe. Coaching transition aside, a mostly revamped team has officially hit the road for the start of the season in St. Louis against former independent fellows Lindenwood University. Prior to Arizona State joining the NCHC for the 2024-25 season, the Sun Devils and Lions faced off four times, starting with Lindenwood's inaugural 202

Update: Since publication, KTAR has released a full copy of the letter from seven anonymous Arizona State hockey players, which can be found here. Update 2: In the hours since this letter was revealed, the chairs of both the Arizona House Education Committee and the Arizona Senate Education Committee - Matt Gress and Hildy Angius, respectively - publicly called for an independent investigation. Arizona State will commence its hockey season in four days, with head coach Greg P

With less an two weeks before the Sun Devils open the season at Lindenwood, and just over a month since Matthew Mayich's collapse, Arizona State University and Senior Vice President, Educational Outreach and Student Services James Rund have released the initial findings from the workout that led to Mayich's hospitalization. In short, the timeline of events submitted with the findings does not suggest anything about the workout was out of the ordinary. A series of calisthenics

Sparky holds the Union Jack Classic trophy after Saturday's win over Kansas. Photo: Madison Haynie/State Press It may be the bye week, but we're still fielding your questions about all things Sun Devil Athletics. With volleyball off to a hot start, hockey around the corner, and men's and women's basketball lurking on the horizon, there is plenty to discuss in the week off from football. So shoot us your questions, we'll pick a handful to feature in our Friday responses. As al

On London eve, we here at Echo From The Buttes have digested your post submissions over tea and biscuits, and here’s what we have for you. Where will ASU go for hockey leadership if what seems like the inevitable happens and the newly endowed head coach is fired? Is the season a bust? - Greg in Chandler At this point with so many unknowns still present in this situation, there can only be speculation. We here at Echo From The Buttes choose to continue to offer prayers to Matt

Photo: Jakob Brooks/Cronkite News 'Ello gov'na! Got some post for us? The Sun Devils are across the pond gearing up for Saturday's matchup against Kansas from Wembley stadium, and we've got the answers to your burning questions ahead of this historic event. Submit any questions that you may have about the game or anyhing related to Sun Devil Athletics, and we will pull a few to feature on Friday. Until then, Forks up and Give 'em Hell, Devils!

Photo provided to Arizona Republic by Tim Ziesel via Buddy Rake New details have emerged that raise questions as to whether proper channels were followed leading up to the August 20th workout that led to the collapse and hospitalization of Arizona State hockey defenseman Matthew Mayich. A new report from Robert Anglen of the Arizona Republic indicates that trainer Tim Ziesel was never formally engaged in a contract for the planned three-day workout, instead being retained by

As of this moment, it doesn't seem as if Sun Devil hockey is going to experience any season-altering changes as an internal review continues regarding the collapse of defenseman Matthew Mayich during a team workout. Nevertheless, Thursday saw a statement issued by Brian Ramsay, Executive Director for the Professional Hockey Players' Association, that seemingly commented on the situation in Tempe: Notably, Ramsay did not mention Arizona State by name. He used vague phrasing li