Sun Devil Hockey Gears Up for Desert Hockey Classic with Momentum and Milestones on the Line
TEMPE - The calendar flips to 2026, and Arizona State hockey is ready to dive into the new year with a familiar challenge: defending their home ice at the Desert Hockey Classic. The puck drops at 7 p.m. MST on Friday, Jan. 2, when the Sun Devils face off against Alaska Anchorage at Mullett Arena.
This year’s tournament features a four-team field with Michigan Tech, Air Force, and Alaska Anchorage joining ASU in Tempe. The action gets underway Friday afternoon with Michigan Tech taking on Air Force at 3 p.m., followed by ASU’s primetime clash with the Seawolves. Saturday’s matchups will be determined by Friday’s results, with the consolation and championship games set for 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
Where to Watch
Fans can catch all the action live on NCHC.TV with a subscription. Tyler Paley and Alex Coil will be on the call for both the broadcast and the radio coverage on Fox Sports 910 AM.
Familiar Foes, Fresh Stakes
Arizona State enters the Desert Hockey Classic with a strong track record against this year’s participants. The Sun Devils are 8-3 all-time against Alaska Anchorage, including a dominant 5-2 win in their last meeting on March 9, 2024, when Lukas Sillinger netted a first-period hat trick. At home, ASU has been perfect against the Seawolves, holding a 6-0 record.
Against Air Force, the Sun Devils hold a narrow 5-4 edge in the all-time series. The two teams split a season-opening series in October 2024, with ASU exploding for an 8-1 win behind a Bennett Schimek hat trick before dropping a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker the next night.
Michigan Tech, meanwhile, has proven to be a tough out. The Huskies handed ASU a 4-2 loss in the 2023 edition of this tournament and went on to beat then-No.
6 Boston University to claim the title. The all-time series is deadlocked at 3-3, but Michigan Tech holds a 2-1 edge in Tempe.
Scouting the Field
Alaska Anchorage may not have the record to turn heads, but they’ve shown they can punch above their weight. The Seawolves’ signature win this season came in a 4-3 overtime stunner against then-No.
6 Denver on Halloween night. Junior defenseman Joey Potter has been a bright spot, tallying seven points so far - including four in his last three games.
Air Force enters the tournament playing solid hockey, with an 8-3-1 record over their last 12 games. They split a recent series with Robert Morris and come into Mullett Arena looking for their first win in the building. Interestingly, the Falcons’ blue line has been getting involved offensively - 15 of their last 33 goals have come from defensemen.
Michigan Tech is fresh off a runner-up finish at the Great Lakes Invitational, where they fell to then-No. 3 Michigan State. Senior forward Stiven Sarfarian is a player to watch - he’s tied with ASU’s Schimek for the national lead in assists (20), and both rank second in the country with 29 points.
Sun Devils Chasing a Three-Peat
Arizona State has turned the Desert Hockey Classic into a proving ground - and a winning one at that. The Sun Devils have taken home the tournament title in each of the last two seasons, including a 4-0 shutout of then-No. 16 Cornell in the 2025 championship game and a 2-1 win over Omaha in 2024.
Since the tournament returned in 2023 after a five-year hiatus, ASU has gone 5-1 in the last three editions, pushing their all-time record in the event to 6-5-1. A win on Friday would mark their fourth straight home victory - something they haven’t done since a December 2024-January 2025 stretch that included wins over Minnesota Duluth, Robert Morris, Cornell, and North Dakota.
And there’s another milestone on the line: one more win at Mullett Arena would be ASU’s 50th since the building opened in 2022. They currently sit at 49-25-6 on home ice.
Players to Watch
Tucker Ness finally found the back of the net - and it was a long time coming. The senior defenseman scored his first career NCAA goal in his 67th game as a Sun Devil, doing it in style during a 5-1 win over then-No.
8 Dartmouth on Dec. 27.
That goal was part of a recent surge from ASU’s blue line, which had gone 15 games without a goal before breaking out with four in the last five contests. Kipkie (twice), Kjellberg, and Ness have all chipped in, giving the Sun Devils some timely scoring from the back end.
Cullen Potter continues to be a spark plug up front. The sophomore forward has scored in three straight games - his second such streak this season - and has lit the lamp in six of his last seven outings. When Potter scores, good things tend to happen: ASU is 7-1 this season when he finds the net.
He’s also joined rare company. Potter is just the second player in program history, along with Matthew Kopperud, to notch 20+ goals and 20+ assists in his first 55 games as a Sun Devil.
Bennett Schimek, the team captain, is putting together one of the best stretches in program history. With 29 points (9G, 20A) in just 20 games, he’s off to the most productive start to a season ever by a Sun Devil. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, his 42 assists are the fourth-most among active Division I players, and his 66 total points (24G, 42A) are tied for second in the nation.
Schimek is also climbing the program’s all-time leaderboard. He’s tied for 10th in career points and needs just two more to move into ninth place. When he’s dishing it out, ASU wins - the team is 5-1-1 this season when he records two or more assists.
Cruz Lucius has been just as dynamic lately. Since Nov. 8, 2025, he and Schimek are tied for the national lead in assists (11), giving ASU a one-two playmaking punch that few teams can match.
Special Teams and Defensive Trends
ASU’s penalty kill has quietly been locking things down. The Sun Devils haven’t allowed a power play goal in their last three games and are a perfect 5-for-5 on the PK since Dec.
- They currently rank third in the NCHC in penalty kill percentage at 81.8%.
What’s at Stake
The Sun Devils have a chance to make history this weekend - not just by winning their third straight Desert Hockey Classic, but by doing it on the back of a core group that’s rewriting the record books in real time. With Schimek leading the charge, Potter heating up, and the defense stepping into the scoring mix, ASU enters 2026 with momentum, milestones, and home-ice pride all on the line.
Friday night’s showdown against Alaska Anchorage is more than just the start of a tournament - it’s the next chapter in a season that’s starting to feel special.