From the beginning, Greg Powers has been the 'only guy' to lead ASU hockey to national prominence (Arizona Republic)
Inside Arizona State's stunning rise to college hockey prominence (theScore)
NCAA Tournament?! How ASU hockey’s improbable rise reached a new level (The Athletic)
Arizona State: College hockey's new kids are more than all right (Duluth News Tribune)
Postcard from Tempe: College hockey blooms in the desert (Grand Forks Herald)
D-I in the Desert (The Players' Tribune)
Coach Powers Named 2018-19 Frank Kush Coach of the Year (Sun Devil Athletics)
Powers Inducted into ACHA Hall of Fame (Sun Devil Athletics)
Follow Coach Powers on Twitter: @asucoachpowers
Coach Powers enters his 16th overall season on the Sun Devil Coaching Staff and his ninth as head coach of ASU’s NCAA Division I Hockey program. He was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Spencer Penrose Award, which is awarded to the Division I Coach of the Year. Coach Powers was also named the 2018-19 Frank Kush Sun Devil Coach of the Year, as voted on by the 26 head coaches at Arizona State. In April 2023 he was inducted into the ACHA Hall of Fame.
Powers was instrumental in the build and opening of Mullett Arena, Arizona State University's on-campus $140 million-dollar hockey arena that holds 5,000 seats and includes two full-size ice sheets. Mullett Arena opened its doors for the first time on Oct. 14-15 as the Sun Devils faced Colgate. Mullett Mania caught on quick as a sold out crowd of 5,026 fans descended upon the arena on opening night. Over 24 home games, ASU averaged an attendance of 4,791.
The Sun Devils collected their first sweep in Mullett Arena history over Colorado College on Oct. 21-22. The 2022-23 squad went on to secure five sweeps in front of a home crowd in the arena's inaugural season.
ASU competed in a David vs. Goliath matchup as part of the single game U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game versus then-No. 6 North Dakota at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 29, 2022. ASU went down 2-1 by the end of the first period, but came back to score two additional goals in the final 40 minutes and hold the Fighting Hawks scoreless. Senior Robert Mastrosimone brought his signature 'Mastro Magic' to Sin City and scored the game-winning goal, his first of the season. The win extends the Sun Devils' undefeated streak in Vegas (3-0).
Powers led his team into the highest ranked win in program history as ASU defeated then-No. 1/2 Minnesota in an overtime blockbuster thriller on Nov. 26, 2022. The game was the highest-scoring of the season with 11 goals between two teams and once again, Mastrosimone scored the game-winning goal to defeat the Golden Gophers, 6-5.
During the 2022-23 season, Powers reached his 100th NCAA head coaching win. On January 27, 2023, the team earned a 4-0 victory over St. Thomas to remain undefeated against the Tommies in program history and secure the career milestone for ASU's bench boss. The Sun Devils went on to earn a clean sweep of St. Thomas at Mullett Arena.
Powers has over 30 Sun Devil Hockey alumni in professional hockey, most notably Josh Doan (Arizona Coyotes (NHL)/Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)) and Joey Daccord (Seattle Kraken (NHL)/Coachella Firebirds (AHL)).
On July 7, 2022, Arizona State University and Greg Powers agreed to a five-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season.
In 2021-22, Powers led ASU to five-straight wins versus USCHO.com Top-20 opponents in 2021-22 for the first time in program history (the previous record for consecutive wins against ranked opponents was three-straight games). This season the team boasted three of the top-10 scorers in the nation in Colin Theisen, Matthew Kopperud and Josh Doan. ASU scored 116 goals in 35 games for a 3.31 goals per game average, ranked No. 11 in the country.
Powers utilized the transfer portal to make Colin Theisen, a captain at Notre Dame, a Sun Devil for the 2021-22 season. The graduate transfer executed the best season of his college career and finished as ASU's top scorer on his way to breaking ASU's single-season program record for total points with 42 (19G, 23A). One of Powers' biggest recruits to date, Josh Doan, finally donned the maroon and gold in 2021-22, taking the college hockey world by storm. A Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year Finalist, Doan set two new single-season records: for total points scored by a freshman with 37 and assists by a freshman with 25. The Scottsdale native disrupted the national scoring ranks as he led all NCAA freshmen in total points through the regular season.
Under Powers, the program played its seventh and final season at Oceanside Ice Arena, the community ice rink in Tempe. This Fall, the team will move into the new 115 million dollar Multi-Purpose Arena located on ASU's Tempe campus. The fan excitement for the move to the 5,000 seat arena is undeniable - general seating season tickets sold out in April 2022.
Powers helped guide the Sun Devil Hockey program through an unprecedented all-road schedule in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Division I Ice Hockey programs shifted to conference-only schedules in response to the pandemic, Sun Devil Hockey, spearheaded by Powers, created a partnership with the Big Ten Conference. The newfound agreement for the 2020-21 season allowed ASU to embark on one of the most extraordinary and unparalleled seasons of college hockey in which the Sun Devils played the entire season on the road, solely against Big Ten teams. The Sun Devils traveled a total of 15, 519 miles, compiled 74 total travel days, including 58 out of their first 70 days on the road. Despite the odds, the Sun Devils concluded the season with zero forced cancellations. ESPN covered the season-long road trip.
Following a historical and program-best season in 2018-19, coach Powers, his staff and the team rose to greater heights in 2019-20. After the early departure of Mike Richter finalist Joey Daccord, the Sun Devils managed to set a new record for wins in a season with 22 and upsets of No. 4 Denver, No. 8 Clarkson and No. 9 Quinnipiac. The program reached all-time highs in all three rankings -- including No. 9 in the USCHO and USA Hockey/USA Today polls -- and finished 13th in the Pairwise. Down the stretch, the team won 11 of their final 14 games to put themselves in a position to all but seal their second NCAA Tournament appearance. The outbreak of COVID-19 eventually led to the NCAA Winter and Spring Championships to be canceled, therefore ending the Sun Devils' historic season before the postseason, in which they had a 96% chance of making at the time.
The 2018-19 season was a historical campaign, as the Sun Devils became the fastest start-up program to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in NCAA Division I history. Powers and his staff led the team to a 21-12-1 record in the regular season for a 13-win turnaround year-to-year after going 8-21-5 in 2017-18 -- the biggest regular season improvement in the NCAA. After upsetting then-No. 6 Penn State in November, the program earned its first-ever ranking at No. 18 on Nov. 12, 2018. The Sun Devils finished the season at No. 10 in the Pairwise rankings -- a jump from No. 53 and the biggest improvement in the NCAA year-to-year.
Junior goaltender Joey Daccord, who was drafted by the Ottawa Senators a year before arriving in Tempe in 2015, became the first Sun Devil to sign an NHL entry-level contract and play in an NHL game after debuting for the Senators on April 4, 2019. Daccord also became Powers' first AHCA/CCM All-American as one of just four goaltenders to earn honors in 2018-19.
In his first year as head coach, he led the team to a 10-23-5 record in 2015-16. In 2013-14, Coach Powers helped guide the Sun Devils to their first-ever ACHA Division I National Championship. He holds a 220-122-27 career record and a 44-74-11 NCAA record, and his team ended the 2014-2015 season ranked #3 in the ACHA with a 35-4-1 record qualifying for the team’s third straight ACHA Division I Final Four. Since taking the reigns as head coach, Greg has also coached eight ACHA Div. I All-Americans and 15 ACHA Academic All-Americans.
Coach Powers has helped lead Sun Devil Hockey to five consecutive ACHA National Tournament appearances, starting with his first year as Head Coach in 2010. In 2012-13, he led ASU to a new program best record and first ever 30 plus win season with a record of 35-8-1, its first ever Final Four Appearance, first ever National Ranking of #1, and a benchmark win over NCAA DI Penn State. During the 2013-2014 season, ASU Hockey won the ACHA DI National Championship, with Powers named ACHA DI National Coach of the Year. The Sun Devils were also named WCHL Conference Champions both for 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, and Powers was named WCHL Coach of the Year for 2013-2014. Powers was also named an ACHA Division I National Coach of the Year finalist in 2012-13, and 2014-15.
Himself a Sun Devil, Powers graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in 1999 and was inducted into the ASU ACHA Hockey Player Hall of Fame in in 2009. Collegiately, Greg was a three-time ACHA Division I All-American Goaltender while playing for the Sun Devils under the tutelage of Hall of Fame Head Coach Gene Hammett. The Sun Devils qualified for three national championships during Powers’ four-season collegiate career, and he was named Team MVP for the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons.
Ray Anderson, Vice President for University Athletics, has said of Powers, “He is going to be the first varsity Arizona State University hockey coach is because he deserves to be. Greg Powers has built a powerhouse ice hockey program here in Tempe, and because of his work it was probably a matter not of ‘if’ but ‘when’ Sun Devil Hockey would be ready to compete at the highest level.”
