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Sun Devil hockey continues theme of domination over Arizona in opening-night rout at Gila River Arena

ASU extended its winning streak to 11 after Saturday's blowout.

ASU hockey Coyotes press conference 3
ASU hockey coach Greg Powers speaks at a press conference to announce an arena-sharing agreement with the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2015, at the Carson Student-Athlete Center in Tempe. Powers said ASU's hockey program would not have reached NCAA Division I level without the Coyotes' commitment to hockey in Arizona.

ASU hockey had won 47 of 48 meetings with Arizona with 10 straight wins coming into Saturday's opener at Gila River Arena. Head coach Greg Powers had a 39-1 record against the Wildcats after a season sweep in 2014-2015. 

Now, it's 48 of 49, 11 straight wins and a 40-1 record against Arizona for Powers after a 8-1 rout in the team's inaugural game as an NCAA program. 

The Sun Devils started strong, taking a 4-1 lead after the first period. ASU also outshot Arizona 29 to four through two periods, smothering the Wildcats defensively. 

Junior defenseman Connor Schmidt said the team was in awe of the crowd when the players skated on the ice for warmups about 30 minutes before puck drop. That's when they knew the atmosphere would be top-notch, and he said it delivered as the game progressed.

Schmidt, who scored the new DI program's first goal, said the feeling still had not sunk in by the time the game ended. 

"It's an honor," said Schmidt, who had previous NCAA experience at Ferris State. "It's like something I can tell my grandkids. I'm kind of speechless right now.

"We walked out for the national anthem and you get the chills down your spine. (The atmosphere) was great."

Five of ASU's eight goals came from freshmen, with Jordan Masters netting two of them. The freshmen output was one big question coming into the season because they were the NCAA recruits Powers brought in to "be the tradition" and shoulder the load in the team's first few DI years. 

"When you bring in 20 new kids—five of them are redshirts—and (have) 13 kids who have been here for an extended period of time and have already gelled so well together and are just so close, just the energy is really good in the room and it's really good in practice and it's good on the bench," Powers said of the team, which only chose 13 of its ACHA players to make the jump to DI. "I think that's going to really help us be successful."

Schmidt said his message to the new guys was simple—stay focused. 

"The first impression is huge on a coach, this was the first game for a lot of them, and I thought they stepped up really well," Schmidt said of the team's freshmen.

But it hasn't always been this way. Although ASU has dominated the series for years, Powers said he remembers Arizona being somewhat of a powerhouse when he was a freshman at ASU.

"When I started as a freshman, I think their winning streak against us was 68 games," he said. "People forget that they have a really rich tradition down there...they won a national championship in I think 1985. It was flipped back in the day."

When the final horn sounded, the Sun Devils had outshot Arizona 49 to nine, holding them scoreless after Robbie Wilkinson put the Wildcats on the board 12:26 into the first period. ASU's nine penalties were four less than the Wildcats' 13, but it only converted on only two of eight power plays. 

The win came in common fashion for ASU in what will be its last home game against rival Arizona, which is still an ACHA program. The Sun Devils travel to Tucson on Feb. 19, their final matchup with the Wildcats, unless Arizona makes the jump to DI. 

And seeing what ASU's move has done for hockey in the desert, Powers said he would be fully supportive of a possible move by their rivals down South.

"Hopefully one day they decide to do what we've done down in Tucson," he said. "I think it would be great for the rivalry. I think it would be successful there—they have the facility, they have the fan support, so maybe one day it will."

As for now, ASU will finish its hybrid ACHA-NCAA schedule this year before adopting a full DI schedule next season. 

Sun Devil hockey will travel to Alaska for games against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks on Oct. 9 and 10, respectively. 


Reach the reporter at Justin.Toscano@asu.edu or follow @justintoscano3 on Twitter 

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