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👋 GOOD MORNING
Monday, Jan. 13, 2025 — Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Today’s issue will catch you up on everything in the Arizona hockey world, but let’s start off by giving the Suns a little love — nice come-from-behind win over the Hornets at Footprint Center last night! Phoenix avenged an ugly loss to Charlotte last week with a 19-5 run in the game’s final five minutes, getting back to .500 while winning its third consecutive game.
“We’ve got to build on this,” star Kevin Durant said on the TV broadcast following the game.
The victory was much-needed considering the Suns hit the road for five straight beginning with a tilt in Atlanta on Tuesday. Devin Booker scored 30 points for the 10th time this season, while Durant notched 27 and chipped in eight rebounds. There’s still plenty of trade drama surrounding this team, so the next stretch will be critical to how the rest of the season unfolds.
On to the show!
Arizona Hockey Teams Set Sights on Memorable Seasons
The NHL is long gone (and we hope on its way back), but hockey continues to thrive in Arizona.
The AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners are picking up where they left off following last season’s stellar regular season, while up the I-10, the ASU men’s hockey team is making waves of its own. Collectively, the two teams are creating quite a buzz in their respective leagues.
Intensity will begin to pick up as both Tucson and ASU begin their postseason push, so the PHNX Daily thought it was a good time to check in on each respective team and their status within the Arizona hockey stratosphere.
Roadrunners Keeping Pace in Jam Packed Pacific Division
The Roadrunners are in the midst of a seven-game road trip to kick off 2025, and have fared reasonably well to this point, compiling a 3-2-0 record over that span. Tucson has navigated the tricky AHL waters quite well, going 6-3-1-0 over its last 10 games, maintaining sixth place in the Pacific Division, but sit just two points out of third.
The road just got a little more difficult since All-Star Josh Doan was recalled to the team’s parent club, Utah, following a longterm injury to former Roadrunner Dylan Guenther. Doan has eight goals and 13 assists in 25 games with Tucson, and has been named to the AHL All-Star team in each of his first two seasons in the league. He has a goal and an assist in 11 NHL games this season.
Doan has hardly been the only story for the Roadrunners midway through the regular season. Forwards Egor Sokolov (27 points in 33 games), Andrew Agozzino (25 points in 31 games) and Kailer Yamamoto (24 points in 25 games) have been stellar when it matters most, while Cameron Hebig is in the midst of his best professional season to this point, as he is on pace for a 46-point year.
Matthew Villalta has been his usual steady self (2.84 GAA, .908 SV%) between the pipes, while Jaxson Stauber’s (2.25 GAA, .932 SV%) return from an NHL stint will also be a huge boost in net.
Tucson is almost halfway through its 72-games season, and at 19-13-1-0, they have a chance to avenge last season’s early exist from the AHL playoffs.
Sun Devils Continue to Prove NCHC Doubters Wrong
What a special season it has been in Tempe.
In just their first season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), the ASU men’s hockey team is locked in a three-way tie for the first, matching the 19-point output from both North Dakota and Western Michigan. In case there’s any doubt as to how significant this is, consider this: Six of the last eight national champions have hailed from the NCHC, and the conference has five teams in the top-20 of the Pairwise rankings: North Dakota (19), St. Cloud State (17), Arizona State (14), Western Michigan (7) and Denver (6).
ASU has wins over defending national champion Denver and North Dakota, and had won 10 straight (including two exhibition games against USNTDP) before Saturday’s overtime loss to the Fighting Hawks.
Wow.
Bennett Schimek and Noah Beck lead the team with 20 points, while goalies Luke Pavicich and Gibson Homer have split time in net. The former has a 2.49 GAA and .913 SV% in 20 games, while the latter has posted a 1.88 GAA and .932 SV% in eight appearances. They got some reinforcements over the weekend, as well, as forward Cruz Lucious made his debut after missing all season with an injury.
ASU still has a monster challenge ahead of it, including matchups against St. Cloud State, Colorado College, Denver, Omaha and Western Michigan, but coach Greg Powers’ team has already shown it can play with anyone in the NCAA, and Sun Devils fans should be excited about postseason possibilities heading into the spring.
Paul Bissonnette Turns Tough Experience into Positive For Arizona Hockey Growth
One final note to call out before we turn the page — Icon and fervent “hockey in the desert” supporter Paul Bissonnette turned up at the Sun Devils’ hockey game last week, and the enforcer-turned-anaylst made headlines recently after he was attacked at a Scottsdale restaurant after attempting to assist staff that was being accosted by unruly patrons.
It was nice to see him present at the ASU game on Friday, and it also reminded us of his incredibly kind gesture to donate a portion of the proceeds from his new shirt, “Biz Nasty Gym,” to the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation to continue growing hockey in the desert, despite the lack of an NHL team.
Bissonnette has long been one of Arizona hockey’s most ardent supporters, and it’s pretty cool to see him continue to give back. You’re one of the best, Biz!
🧢 TIP OF THE HAT BY BRANDED BILLS
Nice finish by Oso Ighodaro, as the Suns rallied in the waning minutes to beat the Charlotte Hornets.
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