Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The only podcast covering all things Arizona State athletics! We bleed maroon and gold, and love talking about the Sun Devils no matter what sport.
Tom Hardon (00:31)
Welcome one, welcome all to another episode of Echo from the Buttes. It's a two man show tonight. I'm Tom Harden, your host. With me is Austin Bundy. And we've got a little bit of football chatter to go over. A little bit unexpected for this point in the season, but it's always football season to an extent, isn't it, Austin?
Austen Bundy (00:53)
yeah, mean, Super Bowl coming up for people who are going to be listening to this on Friday. College football offseason never sleeps. There's always something to talk about.
Tom Hardon (01:02)
Well, this time the news comes from not the players on the field, but potentially some shakeup on the sidelines. It was reported earlier on Thursday that Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo interviewed with the New York Giants for the quarterback coach position. And, Alson, I know that that scratches you right where you itch. Another 10 feet East Rutherford connection. What do you make out of this report?
Austen Bundy (01:32)
I mean, honestly, it shocked me a little bit. Arroyo was not anybody that I thought would be on New York's radar. That's nothing against him. That's no slight against Arroyo's credentials. But the Giants just historically do not look at Tempe when it comes to any kind of talent on the coaching or the player side. It's only been recently where they drafted Kam Skatibou last year. They drafted DJ Davidson, I think two years prior that, to beef up their defense.
So if they end up do hiring Arroyo, that would be three Sun Devils in the last five years that they're bringing over. So I mean, I love the trend as a Giants fan to bring in these guys from our alma mater. ⁓ The only thing that I'm trying to wrap my head around, why exactly they would want to talk to him. And the things that just keep coming to mind are, mean, A, the Scadaboo connection. I would not be surprised if he really got in Joe Shane's ear or somebody in that front office's ear.
about Marcus Arroyo and things that he can do for the Giants offense, bringing him in as the the quarterback's coach potentially to work with Jackson Dart. ⁓ I think that would actually be a very good pairing considering you've seen what he was able to do with Sam Levitt the past two years, how he worked. ⁓ Correct me if I'm wrong, Arroyo was there in the Jaden Daniels years, wasn't he? Or did he come in afterwards?
Tom Hardon (02:56)
I've uh he's only been here since 2024 so that would not have been not been Jane Daniels year.
Austen Bundy (03:01)
Okay, so that's long after.
Got it. I mean, well, I mean, just from that, just working with Sam Levitt, I mean, that's, that's a big enough sample size to begin with, just to see ⁓ how well he's able to develop young mobile quarterbacks. mean, and Dart just body index wise has got some size on Sam Levitt. So, I mean, that just adds a little bit more to the incentive to want to work with a talent like that. ⁓
And I wouldn't be surprised if he gets to work with ⁓ Matt Nagy on offense there with Kam Skadabu having known his tendencies and knowing exactly his strengths and his weaknesses on how to use them in that tandem with Tyrone Tracy Jr. It's exciting to me, especially for lot of Giants fans who were scratching their head and kind of bemoaning the fact that we had to hire Matt Nagy after losing Todd Munk into the Cleveland Browns. ⁓
Granted, mean, John Harbaugh kind of lost out to what was just available on the market because waiting for the Browns to make a decision on Munkin. ⁓ Harbaugh was apparently really dead set on bringing his old OC from Baltimore in. But you can't you can't deny a guy head coaching opportunity that that's always going to be the ⁓ what's going to take precedent. ⁓ Matt Nagy just happened to be what was available at the top of the pile. I get it. He's worked with Patrick Mahomes.
a couple of Super Bowl appearances and championships with them. So you also have to look at that as a double-edged sword with the fact that Matt Nagy, as much as yes, he's worked with Mahomes, but when you look at all the other quarterbacks he's worked with, I mean, he's either been carried by them or it didn't work out very well. I mean, exhibit A is Justin Fields when he was the head coach of the Chicago Bears. That experiment didn't work out.
⁓ so it's a little concerning for Jackson Darts development, at least from my eyes, just to see somebody like that come in and potentially. I don't want to say he's going to ruin him, but we've all seen the tendencies that he has in play calling and his priorities on offense. We're all trying to protect Jackson Darts health here and
Matt Nagy likes to get physical with his quarterbacks. Giants already don't have the greatest of offensive lines. to me, just screams there's going to be more contact on Jackson Dart going into 2026. So it'll depend on free agency. It'll depend on the draft. Can they bring in anybody to ⁓ protect Jackson Dart, to open up some more holes for Scadaboo and Tracy? ⁓ But Marcus Arroyo, just to bring it back full circle, like
That's a good option. It's a very good option to bring him in as a quarterback's coach. And I would not be surprised again, if they insert him anywhere else in the offensive scheme here to work with some of these guys he's got a connection with just to pick his brain on some of these things. ⁓ Who knows whether they actually hire him, but I think they wouldn't be fools not to. That again, we kind of want him to stay in 10B. He's been great for the program.
Tom Hardon (06:11)
He absolutely has and it's it's admittedly a very out of the out of the box interview to make but he's done great things with the with the offense here in his two seasons and ⁓ we'd love to of course see him stay here long term but never never really want to deny a coach the opportunity to get to that next level. You would think that Arroyo is certainly somebody who has has head coached
in their future. ⁓ And also you mentioned the connection work with Scadaboo last year. There's also the chance that if the dominoes fall the right way for the Giants and they're able to take Jordan Tyson in the draft, that's yet another Tempe to New York connection and somebody that Arroyo has worked with extensively within the system here in Tempe.
Question for Sendable fans is, would this be cause for concern and where would Coach Dillingham go next for offensive coordinator? Would he take over the offensive play calling and still have an offensive coordinator working with him or is there somebody already existing within the staff that would be able to move up to that position?
Austen Bundy (07:33)
I feel like Dillingham already has a lot on his plate to begin with, even when he had Arroyo there on the sidelines with him. ⁓ I would not be surprised if they promote somebody from within, especially considering how Dillingham likes to create those tight-knit groups. He's already establishing his own coaching tree. ⁓ Then again, he also has an eye for talent outside of Tempe. We've seen that in the transfer portal on the player side. We've seen it when he built his staff. ⁓ I would not be surprised.
If he potentially already has eyes out for people on different staffs already that he would be like, that would be somebody great. I would want to maybe want to snack to bring in if potentially somebody like Arroyo gets a job in the NFL or moves on somewhere else in college football. mean, Dillingham just seems to be plugged in everywhere. if I would really, my eyes would dart immediately to Eugene Oregon.
If Kenny Dillingham was going to try and snipe anybody from Dan Lanning's staff to bring in somebody that he potentially saw as a rising star when he was there as offensive coordinator, that potentially is still there and has moved up into a significant position, has more experience. ⁓ That's where I would look first if I was Dillingham is going back to Eugene, especially considering Dan Lanning and that offense just continues to be a juggernaut. Like clearly you would not make the wrong decision going to grab somebody who has studied that system.
who has worked with that caliber of players, somebody who could potentially draw in the recruiting ⁓ battle, somebody who can draw in the transfer battles, a lot of the talent that would be necessary for an Arizona state to compete at the highest level in the Big 12 and get back to a college football playoff.
Tom Hardon (09:11)
No matter the outcome, Shulman has always shown that he can find that right talent, like you were saying, and it is only the first step in the interview process. We will be sure to have you posted on all the updates as they come, if they come, on Devils in Detail.
Moving over to the ice, we're shaking things up a little bit in our order because we do have a guest joining us to give a little bit of talk on Arizona State's upcoming components. St. Cloud State. But before we bring on our guests, I want to kind of give a little primer for what Arizona State's going to be looking at in this series. you're looking at the standings. Arizona State's sitting in seventh place right now, a point out of
last place in the conference and it's not a it's definitely not where I'm sure where coach powers envisioned the team would be it's certainly not where fans want the team to be and it's it's starting to a little bit a little bit worrisome from my chair at least Austin are you feeling the same thing
Austen Bundy (10:17)
It is getting late, early and tempy. Although it's not as early as we'd like to think in this part of the season, but I will be the first to say that this is do or die. I believe you need a sweep in this series or it's all over. And I don't mean all over is in they're not gonna make the postseason tournament. I just mean just any kind of pot, like, it's hard to put, like, to specify what's what.
would be catastrophic for ASU. A split would not be the end of the world from a 10,000 foot view. But when it comes to this program and the goals that it has, that's curtains on the season. If you can't get all the points here and keep yourself in that battle, ⁓ the reality of the situation becomes ninth place is much more likely than eighth place if you can't get all the points out of this series. ⁓
And it's just, it's a momentum thing for the program because if you are not going to end the season on some sort of high note, it's very discouraging to the players in the locker room. does not send a great message through the coaching staff. And if these players aren't satisfied with how they're playing, how potentially they're being coached, just the program's momentum in general, that can really start to affect the entire locker room. And you don't want to start hemorrhaging players in the transfer portal after that.
after that fact. So I think this is going to be the one of the most important series in the the closing weeks of this season. And I truly believe at home against the team that is sitting six in the NCHC right now, you need you need all six points coming out of this weekend.
Tom Hardon (11:59)
And this is a same cloud scene that in recent years has really experienced some.
Shall we say second half let downs year after year. ⁓ Last season, especially an 11 game winless streak that ⁓ sank them all the way down to eighth place in the conference. Thankfully for the Husky Faithful, was bottom door in Miami that was a very distant ninth and there was no risk of missing the conference postseason tournament. But now with the standings so tight at the bottom, look ⁓ from sixth place where St. Cloud is to
Omaha in ninth place there's a two-point difference between sixth place and ninth place there's just no room for error for and for any of those four teams in that gap Colorado College Arizona State's most recent opponent included
But for the Sun Devils, I'm looking for, like you Austin, I'm looking for a sweep. I'm greedy. I want all six points that are on the table. I want the Sun Devils to bolster their position and be more secure.
Home ice is out the window as far as I'm concerned. Just put yourselves in a better position where you don't necessarily have to go on the road and face North Dakota right away if you're able to get out of the first round. You can set up a set of a potentially more faithful matchup if they're able to get as high as fourth place in the top four stay as they are. Minnesota Duluth being on a little bit of a slide and
losing losing their circle tender to the the Olympic break. I'm just looking to stack points, especially going up against Western Michigan on the road in Kalamazoo next weekend and rounding out with Omaha and Denver to finish up the season. It's not an easy stretch to the schedule. The NCHC has always been and will always be a gauntlet throughout the year. And there's a reason why it's the toughest conference in college hockey.
Austen Bundy (14:08)
100 % and these last few weeks, these are momentum builders and you can look at it as a momentum builder trying to go through into the tournament or a momentum builder when you're looking into next year, because you do not want to end this stretch of four opponents with splits and reverse sweeps. I look, I mean, just we're looking at the schedule in general, like St. Cloud and Omaha.
need to sweep those. Like those are must sweep series. You cannot afford splits of any kind ⁓ in those series. Denver, I can understand if you're going to get reverse swept there. It's a very good team. If you can take points off of them, great. Like fantastic. Western Michigan, same exact scenario. If you can take any points off of them, fantastic. But these are all like, this is all about handling your business.
and then going up against these bigger opponents, Western Michigan, Denver, and trying to punch up above your weight class here so that way you build momentum going into the tournament. So when you are going to face a higher seed in that first round and potentially further, you already know you've proven to yourself as a program. can you still got it this season. You still have what it takes to win the big games. I mean, there's not much more you can ask of a program right now that really has not a whole lot else to lose. Just to put and lay everything on the line. Injuries have ravaged the locker room.
just you do it for the guy sitting next to you on on the bench and you take it from there one shift at a time.
Tom Hardon (15:33)
you know, talk about the injuries ravaging the locker room. I do want to talk about one player who has stepped up his game in the throughout the noise of all these injuries. And that's freshman Sam Alfano currently on a five game point streak, three goals and four assists over his last ⁓ over the stretch. And it's really refreshing to see young kids come in and
He had a little bit of a slow start to the season. He was definitely a very imposing figure on the ice. watching him, was kind of feeling, what's his edge to this game aside from just bringing that 6-4 frame? But really stepping up, especially since Colin Potter went down with his injury.
I found was really been impressed me and I I'm excited for how he finishes out the season and hopefully seasons beyond here in Tempe. ⁓ It's just. It is played plus Ben Schimek. We've talked about him all season long. Also on a four game point streak tied for the team lead with Cruz Lucius at 38 points. ⁓ The pieces are there.
It's just getting the pieces all to fit in at the same time to get the best product. saw a ⁓ solid game all told. I don't want to disparage Friday's 6-5 overtime win too much, but it was very streaky play. The Sunnables letting the Tigers get back into the game on two different occasions before Joel Schellberg won the game in overtime.
That kind of play is not going to hold up, certainly against Western Michigan or Denver, like you were saying, and even against St. Cloud and Omaha, two teams that that some of us are jockeying for position with, you can't afford to have off periods, let alone off games.
Austen Bundy (17:37)
100%. I mean, if you're going to look at that game, if you're Greg Powers, of course you have your whiteboard with a lot of the things, the bullet points that you need to improve upon from that game. But the one thing you got to pull out of that and you got to just grab onto is the grittiness. The fact that they let Colorado college back into the game twice and they still found a way to grind out that win. That's something you need to point to as a coach, as players you need to look to and be like,
no matter what the scenario is, you're never out of the game. As long as there's still time on the clock, you keep going out there and you keep playing 110%. And the goals are going to happen. You're going to find your way into a winning scenario. Those types of that mindset, the perseverance that Arizona State showed in that game, they could have laid down and rolled over like they had in previous games where they had a lead. then it wasn't, I don't know if it was Colorado College and.
Saturday or if it was the previous series where they were up three to one and then gave up three straight goals in the third period to lose. Yes, okay, so that was the second North Dakota game, right? Yeah, so it's games like that where they could have rolled over ⁓ after having played poorly in a third period like that, especially very streaky play. But you need rebound games like that where when things go wrong, you're going to keep fighting and you're going to make sure that you're the one that comes out on top. That is the quality that
Tom Hardon (18:38)
That was the North Dakota game.
Yep.
Austen Bundy (19:00)
powers needs to point to and say play that type of heart, give me that type of heart every game and let's clean up A, B and C on the technical side and the results will come.
Tom Hardon (19:13)
Yeah, you're absolutely right. Well, we're going to bring in our guest here. He'll give us some some background on the state of Saint Cloud State hockey. It'll be Nick Maxson radio play by play voice for the Huskies coming on in just a second.
David Howman (19:50)
We are here with the St. Cloud State University Radio Play-by-Play voice for men's hockey, Nick Maxson. Nick, thank you for jumping on with us. Really appreciate you joining the show. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you having me. You've been in radio for a little bit. Tell us a little bit of your backstory for how you got on with St. Cloud. so that goes back a while. You might have to
Get out the stone tablets for this one. No, I started with student radio back in 2018. Um, that was the, uh, the magical year for St. Claude where they went 30 and five, uh, the number one overall seat in college hockey, uh, only to somehow, uh, get ousted in the first round by AIC up in Fargo and the, uh, in the regional there. So got started there, moved my way over to TV with HP and did a couple of seasons producing as well as being, uh, the intermission host, uh, for the Huskies in the 21 and 22 season.
And then been doing women's hockey for big 10 plus over the past three years. And then got a call a couple of years ago to, ⁓ to man the radio home for the men's side. So I've got double duty and it's been fantastic. I love it. It's great to be at the rink almost every single weekend and a double duty coming up next weekend as the men's and women's are going to be finishing out their home schedules, ⁓ four games in a man span of about 28 hours. It's going to be a lot of hockey to watch, but man, it's a lot of fun. You're a busy, busy man.
that 2018 season holds special place for all of us as that was Arizona State's year cracking the glass ceiling to get in the tournament as an independent. I want to flip over to this year's team. St. Cloud coming off of an eighth place finish in the NCHC last year and really impressive freshman class that came in. What can you tell us about what this team has brought that really wasn't quite there last year?
So last year it was a young team, right? We also lost a lot of upperclassmen, especially in the defensive end. and the youth really showed, ⁓ especially as we got to the midway point of the season. And then, as you know, the college hockey writers and all of us in St. Claude know when Isaac Posh went down with the lower body injury, ⁓ he was the one that was keeping us in hockey games all last year. ⁓ so much enough that when St. Claude went out to Denver right before the end of the regular season, let's just say the Colorado scouting staff was waiting for him and, ⁓
Essentially, as soon as the regular season ended, he signed a pro contract to go with the Colorado Avalanche. But that really is what it was time. It was a young team. They had a lot of upside, but just it's an adjustment, right? You go from junior hockey ⁓ up to the NCAA pro level. It's a faster, it's a more physical game. You don't get the time and space like you do in other leagues and that freshman class, although it had a few NHL draft picks to it, still needed to kind of find their way. And those same players have done that this year.
⁓ also with some help with some guys who took their game to another level. We're talking Tyson gross, one of the top, ⁓ faceoff men in all of college hockey right now. ⁓ also leading the, Huskies in points right now. Austin Burnham, like we know when he gets the puck on his stick and if it comes off of it, ⁓ look out or outside it's going to hit you square in the face or it's going to be in the back of the net. ⁓ they're getting great goaltending from both the transfer in Patrick Spurs and from Maine, as well as the freshmen and the reigning ushl goaltend of the year in John show stack out of Lincoln. So.
⁓ It's a bit of a mixed bag this year for saying cloud, but really that freshman class last year, just having that one year maturity, you can see the growth from, and that's really helped the squad carry some moment, some improvement this year.
So tell us a little bit about the goalies. You were just mentioning them before. Out of respect for the program, I'm not going to attempt to pronounce the names, but tell us who you see starting Friday, who do you see starting Saturday, and kind of give us a little bit of their background. What should ASU really be looking for when going up against this tandem? So I think until a couple of weeks ago, it was going to be Showstack both nights. And I still feel there's a strong chance for that. Showstack as a rookie.
Came in with a lot of accolades came with a big competitive mindset. They were expecting him to kind of take the realm and he didn't really do that the first half of the season. ⁓ The holiday break comes around the second half gets going and he is more comfortable. He's better at his rebound control. He's better in his crease and he kind of took the number one reigns ⁓ in the same cloud nets. Now he did get hurt a bit in Denver in that Friday night game. He didn't even dress. They actually had a fly down or third string goaltender.
late Friday night into Denver to dress and luckily they did because he was in the net Saturday night. That being Jimmy Gray to finish out what was a not so great Saturday for the Huskies down in Denver. ⁓ But for right now with the Huskies in a position that their rats they're not far from the bottom. They had a not a great showing at home against Miami. They're not they didn't pick up a single point. So to me I would expect the on show stack to be in the net for both nights especially Friday. And unless there is a lot of goals going behind him I would expect him to play Saturday as well.
You talk about Austin Bernervick, you talk about Tyson Gross, which one player or which couple of players on that board set would you say is the real X Factor going up against the Centival Goaltenders in Samuel Urban and Connor Hasley?
So Bernadick, of course, I he's got an NHL release. I mean, you watch his shot. It's on and off the stick in a hurry. Before the conference schedule is it was already out the same club power play. One of the best in the nation was clicking at over 35, sometimes 40 % all of it because of his one time shot. It's a blast and it gets it. It's accurate and it's off the stick in a hurry. Teams have adjusted. They're really shadowing him. So there's not a clean lane to the net, but I'll tell you, you get in front of this shot. hurts. So watch for Bernadick on the shooting end.
Tyson Gross is his overall 200 foot game. Again, we talk about his face off prowess over 60 % on the season for those that's a ridiculous number right to have that kind of success rate in the ⁓ NCAAs, but ⁓ you know, he doesn't jump off the page with some of his shall we say stick handling or shop, but he just plays a solid 200 foot well rounded game. So expect those to do the same, ⁓ but two players that have impressed me as freshmen that's going to be Noah Ernest as well as Nolan Road.
⁓ the kids from Roseau and white bear, like again, local here to Minnesota, have just looked so comfortable even in their freshmen seasons here at St. Cloud. And they've really been anchoring that top, shall we say six slash top nine. They've been kind of moving up and down the lineup as Brett Larsen has been trying to find that spark offensively. That's been their biggest challenge in the second half is to find consistent goal scoring, but those two, they've been cogs have been anchors and, they've been impressive. So I'd watch those two as far as, know, the middle six.
You know is concerned because they could be that X factors you go down and try to lock up guys like Bernovet and gross that Certainly are dangerous when they're on the ice
So when you evaluate your strengths and the weaknesses that St. Cloud has and you look at the other side of the ice and you see what ASU is bringing to the table here, what's the one thing or maybe a couple things that worry you that ASU could take advantage of going into these matchups? Sometimes puck management. know St. Cloud loves to be a team that possesses the puck. They don't want to give it up and in today's game that's exactly what it is, right? You want to have the puck on your stick and
Every single end of the ice, especially offensively. ⁓ what Miami did super well against St. Cloud was they made the blue line a trench, especially in the offensive blue line for saying cloud, forced them to go, ⁓ give it up and go get it again. Now, mind you, we talked about their ground game with saying cloud. got some really big, strong and fast bodies in their bottom six that can make that work. And in fact, their cycle game, that's what makes St. Cloud dangerous. If they're on their game. Now, with that being said,
If a Napoleon is stacking up sometimes three or if not four players at the blue line, ⁓ you know, again, San Claus has a tendency to play into that. then that transition going back against them is what's cost them a little bit. So I would expect the blue lines, especially the offensive blue line for saying cloud to be just something that they're going to have to be careful of. We know Arizona state also likes to play in transition. and in today's college hockey, there's no slow team. So that would be one area I would keep a watch on if I'm a Husky fan.
With St. Cloud on a three game losing streak, Arizona State coming off of a rough weekend up in Colorado Springs, both teams are battling to stay out of the basement of the NCHC. ⁓ I'm going to wrap my end up with, at least with, what is Brett Larson saying to these guys to turn the tide and ensure that they're staying out of the ninth place position as the season winds down?
Well, they haven't been really talking about it, right? I mean, mind you, before the Miami series, they were looking at an opportunity where if they got both wins, they would have been within a point of UMD for a whole mice playoffs position, right? So, uh, now you find yourself, uh, almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, right? Between where St. Cloud is at, I think, which is in fifth and then, uh, no, I apologize. Six and all the way down to ninth. It's what a three point difference. Uh, it's not much, right? So this is going to be a playoff atmosphere for both teams. Again, the ninth place team is we all know.
does not participate in the NCHC frozen faceoff. You do not want to be the last team that gets to do that. This is the last round of the nine team playoff format here in the NCHC. So I do expect a physical, fast, hard game. I expect two desperate hockey teams. And so if you're Brett Larson, you have to be number one, ready at the start. You cannot be late to the game or else you're going to find yourself chasing. That's one thing St. Cloud. If you look at their record, it's night and day between when they score first or when they give up the first goal. So they got to be ready at the start of the puck.
And they got to get in on their toes. can't lay back. They can't let the game to them. they got to push for, they got to be on their toes, get the puck deep and then cycle. I'm going to wrap up my questioning with a 10,000 foot view here, not just of the rest of the season here, but moving forward into next year. What's your view of the St. Cloud program? And I guess the NCHC as a whole, especially adding another Minnesota school next year in St. Thomas, it really feels like the NCHC and its participants are set up nicely to be.
the premier conference and premier programs going forward in college hockey, even though you've got a lot of these blue bloods in the hockey east that are obviously going to always be in the tournament. But it just feels like this conference is just full of programs that are constantly going to be plug and play in the next decade when it comes to postseason and inter-conference play.
So we'll start at the top here, right? So the NCHC, they've won seven of the last nine national championships and they do it with a combination of skills, speed, hockey IQ. But the one thing that they do do with the NCHC that they do not do in hockey is they can play through the physicality. if you watch teams like BC and BU as they go throughout the tournament, ⁓ if you get in their face, so you stapled them to the boards, you finish your checks. They do not like that. And it tends to get under their skin a little bit. So I think the NCHC, because all teams play a very similar style.
as you watch, feels like it's a playoff type game every single weekend. And I do think for this conference, whoever comes out of it with the auto bed. And as you know, it always puts in more teams and one, it's what usually three, if not five per year that go into the NCAA tournament. They're battle tested. They're already playing playoff hockey and, ⁓ I mean, look at St. Claude and there was on a state this weekend, right? Both teams, you know, shall we say in the middle of the pack when it comes to the NCHC standings,
But if you can find, you shall I say a little bit of a heater, you can get on a roll these lacks three, four weeks of the season. And you can ride that into the NCHC frozen faceoff tournament. Who knows what can happen? That's the beauty of this conference, right? Is that these teams are also good. The parody is so close that nobody can be counted out this time of year. Um, you mentioned the addition of St. Thomas. Um, first of all, I think the NCHC has done a really good job of knowing, uh, number one, its audience, but also knowing number two.
what fits with what their program and what the NCHE is trying to do, right? They want to build national champions. St. Thomas with its brand new barn right there in downtown St. Paul, it's going to capture the twin cities audience. ⁓ it's also got a coach that we all know as a coach in the NCHE and Rico Blasi. So he knows the stiffness very well. He's very familiar with what he's got. So I think it's a great compliment to what the NCHE is trying to do. ⁓ and I just, I truly think again, that this conference is set up so well with who is in it.
The future of the conference looks bright and ⁓ it's, again, it's a Testament to why you've raised seven trophies in the past nine years. So, ⁓ for saying cloud is concerned, I think, you know, number one, there's a chance that we're to get our best defenseman back this weekend. Tanner Henrik say high draft pick at the Columbus blue jackets has been out for almost three months with a lower body injury. he has been skating with a no contact Jersey. There's a hints that he may return potentially as a seventh defenseman this weekend to try to get him.
⁓ Up to speed a little bit. He's an offensive defenseman. He's six foot four skates really well, but he also loves to join the play both on the Russian and the offensive zone. So he's going to add a bit of offense from the blue line that St. Claude has been not lacking, but wants more of, ⁓ because as we talked before St. Claude needs a little bit more offensive spark and more importantly, I'm not talking about the country. They need more finish right now. They're getting chances. ⁓ if you look at the instat stuff for St. Claude or the past couple of weeks, they've been out chancing, they've been out possessing teams.
They just can't get it in the back of the net. So he is returned could be huge for San Claus. We go down the stretch. So it's, it's going to be fun, right? Boys can't wait to watch it. big six points will be on the table this weekend from mold arena or thanks again to Nick Maxson for joining the show. Friday's game against St. Cloud. We'll start at 7. ⁓ From mold arena Saturday's game at 5. ⁓ Both games streaming nationally on NCHC TV. And for those in the Phoenix market.
This game will air locally on Fox 10 Extra. If you're more radio inclined, tune into the iHeart Radio app on Fox Sports 910 Phoenix or pivot over to NCHT TV and listen to our friend Nick on the radio feed. Thanks again, Nick, and have a great night. You guys too. Thank you.
David Howman (34:01)
Lots of great information there from Nick. Our thanks again to him for joining us to give a preview of St. Cloud. We're going to pivot from the ice over to the hard court and both Sun Devil men's and women's basketball were in action on Wednesday and we had a nice little, what do call it, nice little gift that both programs won on the same night.
Men's took home a 71 to 63 win over Utah on the road in Salt Lake while the ladies were at home against a tough Oklahoma State team but pulled off the 74 to 69 win. We'll start with the men's side and for a while there, I tuned into the game about a bit into the second half and it was starting to look a little bit like another case of
of the Bobby's, was looking a lot like the UCF game that got away, but thankfully, thankfully, the Senna was right to hold on and stick it out for the for the eight point win. Austin, how much of the game were you able to catch up on? Actually, none of it. I didn't get to tune in for it, but I was following along on my phone. ⁓
It's very rare, at least for me, just from having watched ASU basketball in the past, just seems like it's very rare for ASU to go to Salt Lake City, I guess in any sport, and come out with a win. So the fact that they went in this down year and pulled off that type of win, even though Utah, of course, we already had a losing record. They're not one of the best teams in the big 12. I still think it's a very significant win to see these guys go out there to show that kind of heart and to really pull off something where they led from start to finish.
⁓ It looked like it felt like a complete game at least from the view that I was watching it from I didn't get to see a whole lot of that eye test of things starting to look like they might be getting dicey ⁓ But I am Proud of the fact that these guys are not going out there and just dribbling the ball and getting the rest of the season over with they still have a competitive fire and then they're still trying to win games So I give them a lot of credit that they're gonna that that
And they are playing basketball and they are not just out there to finish up whatever they've got left of the season. Clearly going to be ⁓ a ⁓ lost campaign. But I mean, to win by eight in Salt Lake City, I'll take it any day of the week. Yeah, absolutely. And it was you hit it right on the head. was a very, very pretty win. You saw some doubles were only running.
seven guys throughout the game, when he, know, Diop was back to his form, leading scorer at 15 points, Pick Johnson with 14 points, Mellodum with 13 points. It did get dicey inside of the final five minutes, down as low, the lead was as low as four, but I think at that point, you know, Utah was getting to be a little bit more, a little bit more desperate and they were trying to go for not just the overtime play, but they were
They were trying to win it on every possession. And thankfully, the basketball gods were smiling down on the Arizona State sideline. And some of those shots were hitting the iron and not falling through and really helped the Sun Devils finish out the win. But I want to speak to the second half shooting especially. 6 for 26 from the field. Yeesh.
You go 17 of 18 from the free throw line in the second half which really helped keep Utah at bay, but the field shooting, that really shows this team doesn't really have the legs to just play a full 40 minutes. ⁓ It may not be like they are just dribbling out the rest of the season, but
You can tell this team is not built for being able to be punching up that high. Luckily, it was a ⁓ sub-par Utah team that was a sacrificial lamb on Wednesday night. But this team, think, honestly, I kind of feel like the sooner the season comes to an end, the faster they'll be able to
retool and get prepped for next season. Yeah, 100%. I mean, the fatigue is definitely starting to set in. I mean, you're starting to see how thin they are on the bench. ⁓ I mean, I give them a lot of credit for hitting those free throws. I mean, I know at least fans will recognize the last few seasons, their free throw shooting was pretty abysmal. ⁓ And that's what lost them a lot of close games in previous years. So the fact that they were able to ironically close out a game this year.
we are from the free throw line i mean that's that's where you win and lose games is from is from the free throw line ⁓ so i was impressed impressed by that but yet no finishing the first half of forty one twenty five is what saved them because when you get outscored thirty eight thirty in the second half typically out of that was your context if you're losing the second half thirty eight thirty you probably are people think you're not winning the battle you're not going to win the basketball game getting outscored like that in the second half
But they had a big enough lead in the first half that they just kind of could afford to get in chipped away like that. And then from the free throw line, keeping them at bay. But if this was, I don't know, even if like last year's ASU with their free throw struggles, they don't win this game. They probably lose this game by a basket or two. Absolutely. But we'll see if that can turn into a winning streak as the Sun Devils remain up in the northern end of the
Big 12 taking on Colorado on Saturday at 7.30 PM. We'll flip over to the ladies hosting from Desert Financial Arena. Again, ⁓ very tough Oklahoma State team. Pulled out a, I'm not gonna call it a surprise win, but just ⁓ a very welcome win. You saw, we got McKenna Brackens, 20 points to lead the team.
Debra Davenport with just an outstanding game off the bench, 18 points, Gabby Elliott with 17 points. This team is really starting to hit their stride and trying to build themselves up. I almost want to say as a dark horse for not only in the Big 12 tournament, but for the women's national tournament. I think we can officially call ASU a bubble team.
going into these final, this final month of the regular season. ⁓ This is a momentum building win that Molly Miller really needs to build off of, especially when you're going up against a ranked Baylor team coming up this weekend. You pull that off, we're going streaking. I'm confident in this team to be able to go into Waco if they can pull off that win. People better watch out because ASU is going to go in hot to the Big 12 tournament and they better get in.
as a bubble team for the NCAA tournament if they have a resume building win like that on their on their sheet. At 19 and five, ASU has got to be one of the most dangerous teams out there in college basketball right now because they are such, at least from the outside perspective of a lot of these other teams, they are such an unproven commodity. There's only so much tape on them. Molly Miller knows how to make adjustments.
even like just the fact that this still her first year in Tempe and she's still kind of getting her feet under her just with this specific program. But out on the hard court, like these girls are proving that they can play, they're gonna take on every challenge, and Molly Miller is going to make sure that whatever you throw at them, by halftime she's gonna figure out how to counter it. And you're screwed when she does. ⁓ So I'm excited for the rest of the season for this team. I'm excited for that game against Baylor and I...
truly I'm confident that they are going to pull off that upset. You she's got those adjustments down very well, barely losing the first quarter 14-13, but winning the middle half of the game. And you don't often think about the middle half of game. You always think about, you know, first half, second half, even, you know, if I'm watching the NBA, I'm thinking first half, second half, but I'm never thinking about that middle half of game. I think that was the crucial point where
Molly Miller really got the most out of her team and was able to build up that momentum to be able to hold off Oklahoma State over a fourth quarter that they only lost by three points in that fourth quarter, 24 to 19, but it's that middle half that was really the key to victory in my opinion.
100 % a lot of times you hear it's the the five minutes before the halftime and the five minutes coming out of halftime that are usually the most important because one you're trying to Finish strong when fatigue is setting in in the first half and then you want to come out strong and not give up any of that Territory not give up any ground that you gained going into that locker room You want to be able to set the pace coming out and you want to punch somebody in the teeth coming out of halftime make them make them realize that you didn't slow down you didn't
just catch your breath and take a step back. You're still on your front foot. And just looking at the game flow here with ESPN, it was a tight, tight game going through the first and second quarters. And then right about, I'd say, right through that first five minutes of the third quarter was when ASU pulled away. And the game, they really took charge of the game. specifically that third quarter when Molly Miller has told her team about the adjustments she wants to make, I think it's proof right there that
Molly Miller's halftime adjustments are what won them this game. The fact that they were able to pull away in that third quarter and even just losing the fourth quarter by three points. That's one basket. That's one good basket. That is the difference in that fourth quarter and the fact that they were able to hold on for a five point victory. That's huge in my eyes.
We mentioned the upcoming game against Baylor, very tough test, number 15 ranked team in the nation. That game coming at you on Saturday as well at 4 p.m. Then the ladies will be back home hosting Utah on Wednesday, February 11th at 630. If you've not been out to DFA for a women's game since Molly Miller came on the scene, take it from me. Get out there for a game. The energy is absolutely...
off the charts and it's an exciting atmosphere to be in. I know I'm gonna try and make at least one more game for the rest of regular season. We're gonna flip on over to some spring sports that started up today. Arizona State softball kicked off with a double header as we're recording this on a Thursday, hosting both Toledo in the morning and Oklahoma in the evening. First game.
got off to the right start, taking down Toledo by a 4-1 final. Absolutely, you'll have to see a win the first game of season. Nothing better than starting off 1-0, right, Austin? yeah, absolutely. mean, spring sports are back. It's going to be baseball season here soon. You'll have to see the Sun Devils start off with a win there against Toledo. ⁓ You really love to, mean, softball is one of the programs, I think, just like volleyball is something that's going to get
as you fans excited because it's a program that is just waiting to burst out and waiting to reclaim a lot of its legacy. ⁓ I'm excited to see what they do this season. I have confidence that they're going to be a decent squad and I really would love to see them make a make a run in the postseason. And balance hitting up and down the lineup six hits all from different players. don't know me thinking on the the baseball side of things I love seeing.
a lineup that can just hit one through nine through the order. You don't like seeing all the offense come out of one spot in the batting order. You've got to be able to have threats all up and down the lineup. 100%. Balanced batting. You got to be able to have people who are going to play a good defense as well. I think ASU has got that balanced roster, balanced lineup. ⁓ So this is going to be an exciting season. When you've got pitching that, you can get five innings out of your starter, make a lap.
only giving up one run on four hits and then a tuning save out of Aisa Silva. That's a pretty dynamic one-two punch right there. absolutely. I mean, I don't know a whole lot about Toledo, but the fact that you're able to go out there, get a solid start, and then just close the door on him, don't let him get back into things, can't ask for more than that. Unfortunately, the Sun Devils were not able to recreate that magic against Oklahoma, the number three ranked
team in the nation did get out to the early one to nothing lead in the bottom of the third inning, but Oklahoma was ranked number three for a reason. Two runs in the top of the sixth inning, that was all that they needed to hold on for the two to one win. Anytime you can hold the number three team in the nation to two runs or fewer, no matter whether it's baseball, softball, cricket, if they even score in runs.
It's not a bad loss by any means. Especially when you're the second game of the day. Oh yeah, 100%. Especially coming off making that a double header. I to me, as much as that's going down as a loss in the record book, that's an impressive performance. That is a very impressive performance against the number three team in the nation. Especially the fact that they held them scoreless for six, up until the sixth inning.
You're not going to see a whole lot of other programs including ranked ones coming up later this year that are not going to keep Oklahoma scoreless through that long. So I mean, it's very impressive to see them put up that kind of effort. ⁓ And if they can do that against the number three team in the nation, all these other teams that they are going to be expected to handle business and teams below Oklahoma in the overall standings, look out. ASU could potentially ⁓
be a dark horse as well here. more impressive to me about this game, not only going up against the number three team of the nation, but getting a complete game out of Kenzie Brown on the pitching mound. Pitching mound, pitching slab. I always forget that it's a flat surface in softball, but getting a complete game. I love complete games. Bring back complete games. Bring back complete games. Let him go deep.
Two runs, four hits, 13 strikeouts. That's that's a masterful performance no matter, no matter how you spin. ⁓ absolutely. I mean, the FASU's got that kind of talent coming out of their pitching staff. Look out, rest of the college softball world. Like this is going to be an exciting season for ASU fans. Well, softball will be back in action tomorrow night from Alberta Barrington Softball Stadium.
hosting Texas state backing at 6.15 PM. I think you can get out there and get out there and support the Sun Devils. Otherwise the game will be streaming on ESPN plus. All right, awesome. Any last minute topics to go over for you? I don't think so. All right, well for Austin and for the rest of our colleagues over at Devils in Detail, I'm Tom Harden. As always, give them hell devils.
you