Article and Photos by Ana Ramirez Video by Erin Patrick O'Connor
The Game
In the early afternoon on Friday, February 22, the ASU men’s hockey team mingled outside of Oceanside Ice Arena stowing duffle bags and hockey sticks in the cargo hold of a 45-foot-long charter bus.
The view for the 113-mile ride from Tempe to Tucson was nothing but desert and a few farms. The ride was quiet as coach Greg Powers stared intensely out the window, chewing on a straw.
This year, the team was ranked second in the nation and secured a spot to the final four in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I Tournament.
But before the team could focus on nationals there were two games against rival UA that loomed ahead.
“There’s not a rivalry I’ve seen, or heard of that has the hatred that these two schools have for each other,” Powers said. “It’s genuine.”
For four years, ASU has beaten UA 32 consecutive times. (Photo by Ana Ramirez)The game sold out with more than 5,600 tickets, more than doubling the first rivalry game of the season.
The crowd at Tucson Convention Center was fierce.
Small children shout their version of obscenities at the team (“You suck!”) with the encouragement of their parents.
ASU junior goalie Joe D’Elia from Richmond Hill, Ontario said he doesn’t pay attention to the fans. “(The fans) think they get in my head, but I’ve played, what now four games down here, and they haven’t gotten in my head, (and) I don’t think they ever will,” said D’Elia. “If you pay attention to what the crowd is saying, or doing, you’re bound to lose that game, especially as a goaltender.”
Moments before entering the ice, players hunched their bodies, staring into the distance and barely blinking.
D’Elia said he usually doesn’t think too much about the night’s game until about five minutes before the first period.
During those few minutes, he prepares his mind for the next 60 minutes of play. During the weekend, the teams lived up to the billing of a grudge match. UA scored first in both games but could not keep the lead.
When a player scored, the crowd shouted, “He shoots; he scores! Hey goalie, you suck, and it's all your fault!”
UA senior goalie Robert Schultz proved himself during both games. Schultz finished the second game with 41 saves.
ASU won the first game 2-1 and the second 3-1.
ASU beat the Wildcats four years in a row — 32 consecutive times.
“I always tell kids there is two seasons here at ASU,” Powers said. “There’s the season that includes a national tournament, and then there’s the season against the University of Arizona.”
Continue to: "Chapter 3: The Cup"
Reach the reporters at amrami13@asu.edu and epoconno@asu.edu or follow them @anamaria_0182, @mr.erino
