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ASU Players Take Center Stage for Team USA

02/09/2015, 11:45am MST
By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.com

A record six Sun Devils on the 2015 Men's National University Team Competing at the Winter World University Games

By all accounts, when the U.S. Men’s National University Team takes the ice at the World University Games, it will have the official USA Hockey logo on the front of its sweaters.

However, there very well could be a Sun Devils logo instead.

For the second straight Games, Arizona State University set a new record for the number of players it will have on the U.S. squad. During the last Games in 2013, it was five. This year, it’s six.

“I was hoping we could get about eight, but I completely understand they can’t take too many kids from one team,” Arizona State Men’s Club Hockey Head Coach Greg Powers said. “We’re happy for those kids. It’s a great experience.”

Sun Devils defenseman Jordan Young and forward Sean Murphy will play in their second consecutive World University Games. The event will take place from Feb. 4-14 in Granada, Spain.

Also playing for Team USA from ASU will be forwards Ryan Belonger and Chris Burkemper, as well as defensemen Connor Schmidt and Ed McGovern. Schmidt, 21, will be the youngest player.

“Any recognition the ASU program gets helps it out tremendously,” said Young, who is a junior. “I think especially to represent USA Hockey, that just kind of magnifies it that much more.”

This will be Team USA’s eighth time competing in the World University Games, and the men’s team is coming off its best performance, a fourth-place finish in 2013 in Trentino, Italy.

“I don’t think we’re really trying to settle for anything less than a medal,” Young said. “Now they’re stressing to us every time we are in contact or have a group talk or anything that we’re not accepting anything but a medal.”

Young and Murphy will be two of the go-to players on and off the ice for the U.S. during the Games.

“I think that’s kind of our role to step up and take on a leadership role,” Young said. “Since we have some experience and since we’re coming from the same school, I think that’s a natural position we need to take on right away.”

The ASU program will have to make do without their six players for six regular-season games during the World University Games. It’s a good thing that the Sun Devils have a deep squad.

“We don’t expect to miss a beat,” Powers said. “Obviously, we wouldn’t want to go to the national tournament without those guys, but last year when they went to Italy, they only had to miss two games because of the way the schedule laid out.”

Reaching Division I Status

The ASU program has had a great run this past year after winning its first American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I national title in March. The Sun Devils are having another strong season this year and are ranked No. 1 in the country.

Plus, in mid-November, the program announced it would make the jump to NCAA Division I play.  

“Really, it’s been crazy the last three months since we made this announcement,” Powers said. “It’s been a million miles an hour trying to plan and build an NCAA Division I program that begins play in 2015-16, and all the while staying focused and giving your current team everything you’ve got and trying to win another ACHA National Championship.

“It’s a juggling act to say the least, and it’s been a ton of fun and a ton of work and we still have a lot more work to do.”

ASU becomes the 60th school to have an NCAA Division I men’s hockey program. The NCAA has been very selective on which schools get elevated to the highest level in the sport. Penn State in 2010 was the last school admitted into D-I.

“They absolutely paved the way,” Powers said about Penn State. “Joe Battista, who was their longtime great head coach and led the charge to Division I, I had him on speed dial for a couple of months. He was an integral piece helping me accomplish what we’ve been able to accomplish with this. Their success in their third season in Division I, they’re up near the top of the Big Ten and pushing hard to make the national tournament, so they’ve shown everybody that it can be done.”

When Young decided to attend Arizona State three seasons ago, he never imagined he’d have a shot to play at the Division I level.

“There was always kind of a dream within the valley to get a D-I team out to Arizona, because there’s hockey out here,” Young said. “There was never talk or anything, but once we saw it was possible, we did everything we could to make it happen.”

Powers knows ASU is getting a rare opportunity and it needs to do everything right to make sure the program flourishes at the next level.

“We carry this on our shoulders to make this successful so other schools and universities do this,” Powers said. “If we can kind of pave the way out west and be that pioneer and have success, we’re hoping that it leads to Pac-12 hockey and more western expansion.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Photo Credit: Rick Parrish/Arizona State University

Schedule for Women's Team USA at 2015 Winter World University Games

Date Opponent Result/Time (Local/ET)
Sun., Feb. 1 Spain
(Pre-Tournament)
W, 6-0
Thu., Feb. 5 China L, 1-2
Sat., Feb. 7 Japan L, 1-4
Mon., Feb. 9 Spain W, 9-1
Tue., Feb. 10 Kazakhstan
(Relegation)
W, 3-2 OT
Fri., Feb. 13 Spain
(Relegation)
W, 9-0

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