In Dave Hakstol's return to the NCHC, he'll be treated with a win.

The Sun Devils defeat St. Cloud State on the road in a tightly contested game, edging the Huskies 3-2 with a 3rd period goal from Jack Beck.

Fast Start

Arizona State got off to a quick start in the state of hockey, scoring via their captain Kyle Smolen less than seven minutes into the contest. It was the first of two goals they would net in the opening frame, as Ben Murthersbaugh was able to follow up with an assist on the first goal, with a goal of his own in the final two minutes of the period.

The two Sun Devil scores were split by two goals for the Huskies, as their leading scorer, Gayvn Thoreson, along with Noah Urness, were able to give St. Cloud State a brief 2-1 lead.

After a four-goal first, the scoring came to a halt, as the next would be the game-winner. On a long shot from the point, it was originally what looked like Rylan Brown's first goal of the year, before it was corrected to Jack Beck's tuck, which helped propel Arizona State to their third win under Dave Hakstol in as many games.

Special Teams Clicking

The Sun Devils will walk away from Friday's contest very happy with both their power play and penalty kill units. Both of their 1st period goals came on the man advantage. They had just one other power-play chance, going a fantastic 2-for-3 overall. They also held the Huskies scoreless 5-on-4 in three chances, plus staving off the comeback attempt with the goalie pulled in the final minute or so.

Familiar Faces, and Not So Familiar Faces

Smolen, the Sun Devil captain, certainly had a little extra behind his tuck. A former member of St. Cloud State head coach Nick Oliver's Fargo Force (USHL) team, he was able to do it again for his former leader.

Plenty of USHL mentions throughout the night, as both goaltenders were stellar members of the junior league. Samuel Urban for the Sun Devils, who finished the night with 28 saves on 30 shots on goal, was a finalist for goalie of the year in 2024-25 but finished just short of the award. The goalie who ended up victorious? Yan Shostak, the starter for the Huskies Friday. He made 31 saves, but was not able to earn the win.

On the other hand, it's a contest that featured many new looks at the series between the Huskies and Sun Devils. Combined, the two teams featured 33 new players from the last time they met, in 2025 in Tempe, and both are sporting new head coaches.

Stats and Saturday

The Sun Devils saw four players with multi-point nights. All three goal scorers, Smolen, Beck, and Murthersbaugh, tallied assists as well. Jonas Woo picked up two assists for the maroon and gold, and the other player to tally one was Rylan Brown, whose shot was deflected for the game-winning goal in the 3rd period.

Saturday's contest will be a rematch between the two schools, starting at 4 pm MST, live on NCHC.tv.