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After first NCAA season, ASU hockey’s poor record precedes bright future

The Sun Devils should hold their heads high, despite a 5-22-2 inaugural NCAA season.

ASU celebrates a shootout win against Wisconsin Eau  Claire on  Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 at  Oceanside Arena in Tempe.

ASU celebrates a shootout win against Wisconsin Eau Claire on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016 at Oceanside Arena in Tempe.


The Sun Devils finished what some would call a bad season, losing 5-2 to the 18-and-under U.S. National Team in front of a mostly empty Gila River Arena on Sunday night.

The game was only an exhibition match, a Senior Night season finale against young prospects with NHL potential. But the defeat was, nonetheless, a fitting way to end what may appear to be a disappointing season.

Think again.

After their dominance in the ACHA, this season was the Sun Devils’ first as an NCAA squad. Losses are a part of the learning process, according to ASU head coach Greg Powers, who said his program purposely scheduled a difficult slate of games to get his team acclimated to tougher play.

"We have decided to schedule really good teams,” Powers told The State Press last month. “When these kids are all upperclassmen, the process that we are all going through right now will yield results when they are older … it’s about the process and what it’s going to take for us to become a great program.”

The Sun Devils should hope that freshman forward Jordan Masters is a part of that upperclassmen group later on. Masters led the team this season in points (22), goals (8) and assists (14) and was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award — the award given to the NCAA’s top player each year.

Related: Overall ASU hockey point leader Jordan Masters dedicates career to brother

Also part of ASU’s young core is freshman goaltender Ryland Pashovitz, who started 18 games for the Sun Devils this season. Pashovitz had a .900 save percentage and 3.77 GAA in more than a thousand minutes for ASU.

“He’s unbelievable, best player on the team,” said senior defenseman Jordan Young after the Desert Hockey Classic in January. “He’s the only reason why we’re kind of — I think — positive about where we’re at right now. He’s doing great.”

The silver lining of ASU’s tough season goes beyond having faith in its core group. The Sun Devils forced their first-ever NCAA game to overtime on the road at Alaska Anchorage, and took a 2-1 win over Alaska Fairbanks the next day. They also swept a road series at Lake Superior State and a pair of games at home against Southern New Hampshire. Finally, they were 5-0-2 against Division II programs.

Still, the Sun Devils’ success as an ACHA team and building process in the NCAA is a necessary part of recruiting top talent. That, combined with Arizona’s temperate weather in a league full of blizzards and icy roads, is almost sure to attract more talent to surround Pashovitz and Masters.

Once ASU moves past the growing pains, they’ll be just fine.

Related Links:

ASU hockey falls to US 18-U in season finale at Gila River Arena

ASU Hockey ties US National Team U-18 after 21 Power Plays


Reach the assistant sports editor at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.

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