👋 GOOD MORNING

Happy Friday! We made it through another week, and now we have Sun Devils playoff hockey to look forward to! Not sure what your weekend plans look like, but why not kick it off with us tonight on the patio at Mullett Arena? You can ​RSVP right here​, and I sure hope we see you there. Don’t forget to wear white.

If you need a joke to get you through the weekend: Why wouldn’t the shrimp share his treasure? He was a little shellfish!

Let’s run it back next week. On to the show!

Sun Devils Can Bolster NCAA Resume With Weekend Success

It has been 4,679 days since fans have been this excited for playoff hockey in the Phoenix area.

Here come the Sun Devils.

The ASU men’s hockey team is set to host Minnesota-Duluth, beginning tonight, in a best-of-three NCHC Quarterfinal matchup. The team has reinvigorated hockey-crazed fans in The Valley, and will play host to the first playoff game this area has seen since the then-Phoenix Coyotes lost in overtime to the L.A. Kings in Game 5 of the 2012 Western Conference Final.

Yeah, it’s been that long. (The Coyotes made the playoffs in 2020, but played in the COVID bubble).

The Sun Devils, though, have made their presence felt as first-year NCHC members, and with that have earned the right to host one of the conference’s quarterfinal matchups — against the aforementioned Bulldogs.

Sun Devils Can Automatically Qualify for NCAA Tournament

One of the biggest benefits of joining a conference is that ASU can automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament by capturing the NCHC crown. A tall task, to be sure, but the Sun Devils have also beaten every conference opponent at least once in regulation this season. Currently sitting 16th in the Pairwise Rankings, an at-large bid is far from certain, so a magical March run would sure go a long way.

• This season ASU beat UMD once in regulation, once in overtime and once in a shootout, while the Bulldogs won once in overtime.
• Center Artem Shlaine was named to the First-Team All-NCHC, winger Lukas Sillinger and defenseman Noah Beck received Second-Team All-NCHC nods and winger Ryan Kirwan was named to the Third-Team All-NCHC.
• Center Cullen Potter was named to the NCHC All-Rookie team.

My take: This team has the talent to do some special things. If not for a few tough losses earlier in the season, the Sun Devils would almost assuredly be a lock to make the tourney. Sadly that’s not the case, so a run through the NCHC Tourney is the clearest path forward. So, get all of your white on and come out to Mullett Arena this weekend! We’ll be outside tonight starting at 5 pm, and will take the party inside to hopefully celebrate a Sun Devils’ win.

Take a Deeper Dive: Leah and Petey (!!!) ​analyze the weekend series​ and even caught up with coach Greg Powers.

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

Rock Chalk Wildcats: The Arizona men’s basketball team topped Kansas 88-77 in the Big 12 quarterfinals yesterday, as KJ Lewis and Henri Veesar each scored 19 points off the bench. The Wildcats will face No. 9 Texas Tech in the semifinals (6:30 pm, ESPN2), and if they win they’ll face the winner of Houston and BYU on Saturday (3 pm, ESPN) for a chance to cut down the nets in Kansas City.

Honoring the GOAT: Mercury legend and Phoenix sports GOAT Diana Taurasi held her retirement press conference yesterday, after the team announced her legendary No. 3 will be retired next season. She’s the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, and is synonymous with both basketball and success here in The Valley.

Runnin’ Into the Weekend: The Tucson Roadrunners have dropped three straight, though they’re still clinging to the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.This weekend features back-to-back games against San Jose, offering a chance to not only right the proverbial ship, but also inch closer to sixth place. The Barracuda lead the Roadrunners by six points, with a game in hand. Buckle up, because this weekend could prove to be impactful.

🧢 Tip of the Hat

Thank you, to the GOAT