Sun Devils men’s hockey coach Greg Powers is a victim of his own expectations. When ASU entered the 2022–23 season, it boasted a strong core of returning players including captain and Coyotes‘ second-round draft pick Josh Doan, and Philadelphia Flyers draft pick Ty Murchison. Powers also landed an impressive list of transfers that included forwards Robert Mastrosimone, Lukas Sillinger, Ty and Dylan Jackson, and goaltender TJ Semptimphelter. The Sun Devils were slated to play a program-record 24 home games at sparkling new Mullett Arena, with not only the eyes of the college hockey world focused upon them, but also the marketing-magnifying eyes of the NHL because the Coyotes are calling the venue home. Powers believed that the stage was set…

Arizona State hockey coach Greg Powers walked into the community ice arena adjacent to Mullett Arena last Friday and thought he was experiencing a senior moment. There was Michigan Tech coach Joe Shawhan preparing his team to skate. “I was honestly confused,” Powers said, laughing. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought we played BC tonight.'” If you’re wondering how hard it is for Powers to lure teams to Tempe to compete in the Desert Hockey Classic, there’s your answer. The tournament begins today at Mullett Arena, but Michigan Tech arrived last Thursday (Dec. 29) and both Boston University and Air Force, the tournament’s other two participants, arrived on Tuesday. “It’s a destination tournament,” Powers said. “We live in…

As the year 2022 takes its final lap, it feels like a good time to celebrate Arizona hockey. The Coyotes just completed a season series sweep of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Valley product Auston Matthews, giving them four straight wins over the Leafs. https://youtu.be/siCHqm1PqdU The Arizona State men’s team was getting ready to open a stretch of 10 straight games at Mullett Arena as it began its push toward an NCAA Tournament berth. Two weeks ago, oodles of college and junior scouts descended on the Valley for the Tier 1 Elite League National Midget Showcase, a tournament featuring 60 teams and 120 games spread across four Valley ice arenas in Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe.  The poster boy for…

As colleague Steve Peters has noted, the November edition of the PHNX Coyotes prospect report felt like the Euro edition — and a mouthful for readers, who had to memorize the pronunciations of EHC Red Bull München defenseman Maksymilian Szuber, IK Oskarshamn defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg and Madison Capitols forward Miko Matikka. It’s the holiday season so I kept it...

When the Sun Devils reached the midpoint of their season last weekend in New Hampshire, a casual glance showed a 9-10 team that was 2-8 on the road (1-0 in neutral-site games) and now sits No. 27 in the PairWise Rankings. The NCAA Tournament field of 16 felt far away. A closer inspection reveals just how close ASU is to postseason contention, however. Of the Devils’ eight road losses, three have come in overtime (Minnesota-Duluth, Bemidji State, New Hampshire) and two more came in the final two minutes of regulation, one with 16.7 remaining in regulation at Clarkson, the other with 1:58 remaining at Denver. There has also been controversy. The Sun Devils had a goal disallowed late in regulation…

Rick Zombo and his Lindenwood University hockey staff have been leaning on Greg Powers for advice over the past couple of seasons. The Lions, who joined the NCAA Division I ranks this season, are walking the same path that the Sun Devils walked eight seasons ago when ASU made the leap from club team to Division I. Zombo has something...

The design of the play was simple. The reward for proper execution was massive. About halfway through 3-on-3 overtime against the No. 2 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday at Mullett Arena, ASU coach Greg Powers called a timeout. He wanted Josh Doan to take the faceoff, but he wanted his sophomore captain to do more than just win that draw. “Center wins it forward and when he does, the winger goes,” Powers explained. “Center sends it, breakaway.” Doan won the draw to the weak side and Robert Mastrosimone went, getting in alone to score the game-winner and give ASU a 6-5 win that it needed in the worst way. https://twitter.com/shawn_depaz/status/1596728499553075201 “Another benchmark win for us,” said Powers, who apologized for…

When PHNX Sports began highlighting dogs for adoption and fostering last year at Maricopa County Animal Care & Control’s east shelter in Mesa, I steeled myself for the depressing conditions at that overcrowded, underfunded, understaffed and badly outdated facility. When I stepped inside Heidi’s Village for the first time this summer, I had a “Wizard of Oz” revelation. You’re not in county anymore. Instead of rows of tiny kennels housed by psychologically deteriorating dogs who hadn’t been walked or talked to for days, I entered a bright and open campus with eight separate buildings for dogs and cats, play areas outside each of those buildings, a splash pad, an on-site veterinary clinic, an on-site groomer, training rooms and evidence of…

Denise Semptimphelter always marveled at her son’s equal commitment to academics and hockey. TJ knew the rules. He had to finish his homework before he could go to practice, but hockey was such an important and time-consuming part of his life that there was little time left for anything else. “I don’t know if that routine made him become a really high achiever, but he always wanted straight As and that wasn’t something that we put on him,” said Denise, a third-grade school teacher. “He put that on himself because he always wanted to be the best, whether it was the best goalie, the best mathematician or the best writer. But that meant that he missed a lot of things…