TEMPE — In front of a packed-out crowd at Mullett Arena, No. 14 Arizona State will take the ice for a full-circle occasion on opening night.
Back on Nov. 3, 2018, ASU hockey defeated Penn State, marking the program’s first win over a top-10-ranked opponent. Former Sun Devils Johnny Walker and Joey Daccord led the Maroon and Gold to victory.
Walker, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime, now coaches the Arizona State men’s American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I club team. Daccord, who enters his third full NHL season netminding the Seattle Kraken’s goal crease, recorded a 40-save performance.
On Friday, the Sun Devils will hang Daccord’s No. 35 in the rafters, making him the first Arizona State hockey player to have his number retired. The former Sun Devil goaltender will be honored before the team’s season-opening game at Mullett Arena on Friday, on a night where the lights couldn’t be any brighter: No. 14 ASU welcomes No. 5 Penn State.
“So cool,” Powers said of the Daccord’s number being retired. “He was the second-ever official visit in the history of our program. I was still coaching the club team when he visited … He wasn’t drafted yet. We hadn’t played a Division I game at this level yet when he visited. We met in what you could deem a janitor’s closet at Oceanside [Arena]. We talked about what the vision for this place could be.”
The night commemorating the backbone of the team’s last NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 will be broadcast on the biggest stage. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and the NHL announced that the two-game series will be nationally televised on NHL Network.
Fronting the national spotlight are Penn State freshman forward Gavin McKenna and ASU sophomore forward Cullen Potter.
McKenna, who finished second in the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) scoring race last season, is the projected first-overall selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
On the other bench, Potter ended his freshman campaign with NCHC All-Rookie Team honors. The Calgary Flames selected the 22-point scorer from a year ago with the final pick in the first round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
“He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s more polished. He’s going to be very good for us,” Powers said of Potter. “I’m excited to see him play a little bit more free, in that sense, because it was a lot of pressure on a 17-year-old kid last year.”
On the heels of a Frozen Four appearance, the Nittany Lions return their top-four point collectors from last season — junior forwards Aiden Fink (53) and Matt DiMarisco (32), sophomore forwards Charlie Cerrato (42) and JJ Wiebusch (33).
The Sun Devils lost their top-three point leaders from last season in forwards Ryan Kirwan (39), Artem Schlaine (38) and Lukas Sillinger (38).
What a game, what a series. Special thanks to everyone who has covered ASU hockey for @InfernoIntel in the team's inaugural season in the NCHC. https://t.co/fgQXkZZTa0 pic.twitter.com/yzRUmoqaty
— Parker Beh (@ParkerBeh) March 16, 2025
However, the Maroon and Gold still retained last season’s NCHC leading-returning scorer, senior forward Bennett Schimek. Transferring in from Providence College last year, Schimek will co-captain the team with junior forward Kyle Smolen.
“I mean, truly, a privilege from my teammates, the coaching staff, to think of me in this way,” Smolen said.
“I think that the Schim [Schimek] and Smully [Smolen] have done such a great job as our two captains, really bringing them together and making them understand what our standard is here and on the ice and off the ice,” Powers said of his co-captains.
ASU’s leadership will also feature three alternate captains this season — junior defenseman Anthony Dowd, junior forward Sean McGurn and senior forward Cruz Lucius.
“I’d say relentless, hard and fast. That’s how we want to be,” Dowd said in reference to the team’s identity this season.
The Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, native will have to lead a relatively young blue line. Despite his 5-foot-7 stature, Dowd led all Sun Devils with a plus-13 rating last season. Returners include sophomore defensemen Joel Kjellberg, Sam Court and Brasen Boser, who could all likely see increased roles this season.
Powers prioritized size during the offseason, when adding 17 new skaters to his roster. He explained that while previous teams possessed skill, they lacked physicality and were injury-prone due to the smaller-sized rosters.
Freshman defenseman Justin Kipkie and freshman forward Sam Alfano make up two of those 17 new additions. Both of whom top the squad’s height, reaching 6-foot-4.
Kipkie, who’s been drafted in the 2023 and 2025 NHL Entry Drafts, notched 62 points in 64 games while captaining the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Alfano finished second in scoring on the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Powers also needed to replace goalies Luke Pavicich and Gibson Homer, who are no longer with the program.
In response, Powers added Bentley transfer senior goaltender Connor Halsey. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder backstopped the Falcons to their first Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) title in 2025. His 11 shutouts topped all goalies in the nation last season.
“So pumped,” Hasley said about how he’s feeling after getting the start in between the pipes on Friday. “I feel like, as a veteran presence in college hockey, I learned a lot these last three years, and I just can’t wait to get things going here at Mullett.”
The Mullett could get its first sight at the squad’s newest addition, freshman forward Jack Beck, when the team returns to host Colorado College on Nov. 7 and 8. Jack, who’s the brother of the Sun Devils leading defenseman scorer from last year, Noah Beck, officially joined the Maroon and Gold on Sept. 19.
Beck posted near point-per-game paces in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) last year.
When he’s eligible to return, Powers hopes Beck can become the third left-handed shot in the team’s forward core.
“When he’s back, it’s going to be an unbelievable piece. He teases us every day at practice right now,” Powers said of Beck’s six-game suspension due to the NCAA’s delayed enrollment rules.
The Sun Devils will hope to create more “Mullett Magic” on Friday, with the Nittany Lions set to come to Tempe. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST, as Arizona State prepares for its first home opener against a ranked opponent since 2018, when it hosted then-No. 1 Ohio State.
“While we’re going to have an immense amount of respect for what they put on the ice, we will not be afraid of what we see on the ice. I can promise you that,” Powers said.
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