Sun Devils' hockey season opens, trying to help fill void left by Coyotes' departure

Mullett Arena was, to use a hockey term, buzzing on Friday afternoon.

The barn on the ASU campus was full of energy from the moment students scrambled to their section an hour before puck drop. And maybe for a couple of minutes or hours, Phoenix-area hockey fans could enjoy a game knowing the Sun Devils program — in existence since 2015 and playing at the NCAA Division I level since 2016 — would still be there all season long.

Tenth-ranked Michigan shared the ice with the Sun Devils in the home opener for ASU, defeating the Sun Devils 4-1 inside the mostly full building.

The last time a hockey game took place at Mullett Arena was April 17, when the Coyotes played their final game in Arizona. They won 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers in front of a full house of fans who came to celebrate and mourn at the same time.

The Coyotes have become the Utah Hockey Club, whose season opened on Tuesday in Salt Lake City . The franchise has moved on from Arizona, where it went through year after year of arena drama, getting close to moving to another city and enduring ownership missteps.

Closer to the end of its 28 years in the Phoenix area, the franchise suffered a failed vote for building a new arena a short bike ride from Mullett Arena and continued to be the butt of NHL fans' jokes.

"Welcome back to hockey," an usher, who didn't want to be named, told fans heading down steps to their seats. The usher also worked Coyotes games.

"It's been a long summer without hockey," he added.

Greg Powers, ASU hockey head coach, was there for the final Coyotes game. On Friday, a few fans sported Coyotes jerseys, and ASU head football coach Kenny Dillingham stopped by the student section, where he spotted a guy in a Michigan shirt, took out a maroon ASU shirt, and waited and watched as the fan put the new shirt on over the one he wore.

"I felt sad for the hockey community," Powers said. "The NHL leaving wasn’t a market issue. It was an ownership issue, and we hope it returns very soon."

ASU isn't the NHL, but it is major college hockey. Powers believes the Sun Devils can fill the void local hockey fans feel.

"Those that haven’t experienced college hockey at the highest level will be entertained by the speed and passion our players play with," Powers said.

One former Sun Devil, Josh Doan, scored the game-tying goal for Utah Hockey Club to send that game against the New York Islanders to overtime on Thursday night. Utah won in the extra session.

Another former ASU player, goaltender Joey Daccord, signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.

"We've got 5,000 seats here every season and it's close to sold out," said Tempe resident Steve Gloyd, an ASU hockey season ticket holder whose kids played youth club hockey and who would attend Coyotes games in Glendale and Tempe several times a year. "It's a great venue. It's intimate with no bad seats."

Gloyd, who was outside the arena with his wife, Amy, before Friday's game, worried for the Arizona Kachinas, a women's and girls grassroots hockey organization that got some of its funding from the Coyotes. But he, too, believes hockey can thrive in the market if fans attend and support the Sun Devils.

"They're now in a deficit of $250,000 a year. Girls-only hockey is going to suffer," he added.

The Gloyds were hopeful the NHL would make a return one day.

On the ice, Michigan, in town for two games this week, showed why it is nationally ranked. The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead 102 seconds before end of the first period on Garrett Schifsky's goal.

ASU (1-2-0) opened the second period on the power play, but gave up a shorthanded goal to Schifsky 45 seconds into the period. Then Michael Hage made it 3-0 for Michigan at 3:20 of the period.

Each Tim Lovell touched the puck, ASU students booed the Michigan defenseman who transferred from the Sun Devils program before this season. They cheered when Lovell was whistled for a cross-checking penalty.

A third-period fight on the ice that involved players from both teams seemed to energize ASU, which made it 3-1 on a power play goal from Ty Jackson, assisted by twin brother Dylan Jackson at 14:29 of the third period. But the Wolverines got one more goal before the game ended, the hat trick goal shorthanded into an empty net for Schifsky.

"Both teams made mistakes. You're going to make mistakes early in the season," Powers said. "Unfortunately, more of our mistakes ended up in the back of our net, right?

"That's a really good team. It's a good lesson. We've got to manage pucks. We've got a tough schedule. We don't manage pucks, you're going to end up paying the price."

Waiting in line wearing a Coyotes hoodie, native Arizonan Garrett Percy of Tempe smiled as he expressed his support for the Utah players (most former Coyotes).

"It's a welcome comfort blanket, almost," Percy said of being able to see hockey with ASU. "It's nice to have a team you can still support from Arizona ... and not feel bad that you're cheering for a Tucson team or anything like that, so we'll take it."

Percy misses the NHL.

"People will come to this and support it (ASU), follow it, but it will not be the same as NHL hockey," he said. "It's a different vibe, it's a different world. You're a little more blood-and-roots attached to a team."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sun Devils' hockey season opens, trying to help fill void left by Coyotes' departure