D2 Sun Devils Have High Hopes
Expectations of a regional title and more
WCRHL October 20th, 2009 at 9:01PM October 20th, 2009 9:21PMLast Season
The D2 Sun Devils went 12-4-0 in the 'B' division, losing in the regional championship game, and narrowly missing out on a bid to the national tournament. This season, the team has improved ten-fold and has its eyes set on not only the regional title but much more beyond that.
Returning Players
5 players return from last year's team, including defensemen Tony Huynh and Luke Shaw, both natives of Yorba Linda, CA. Huynh and Shaw will be linemates against this year after finishing 1st and 3rd respectively in scoring last season. Huynh is 1 of 5 players on the team this year who skated with the D1 Sun Devils for several games last season as well.
Also returning is sophomore forward Nick Bazan (Phoenix, AZ) who tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 points in 15 games as freshman. He'll be joined by Cody Clark (Phoenix, AZ), who actually played goalie for the team last year when they were unable to acquire a real netminder. Clark did well in net, leading the Sun Devils to a 2nd-place finish at regionals, but he normally skates out. Both Clark and Bazan skated out for the D1 team last season too, combining for 11 points in 13 games.
The 5th and final returning player from last year's roster is defenseman and team captain Jimmy Woods (Los Angeles, CA), who will skate his final season in the Sun Devils' maroon and gold.
New Players
Headlining the list of incoming recruits is David Johnson (Yuma, AZ), who will give ASU a steady presence in net this season.
4 new forwards join the team this year to bolster an already strong offensive group. All 4 new players are from out of state, including 1 from outside the U.S. There's Geoff Ozima (Brea, CA) who will be 1 of the Devils best two-way players all season, Jeff Stern (Seaford, NY) a talented offensive player from the Tour Roadrunners organization in New York, Greg Goldkind (Olney, MD) a former Kent State Div. 1 ice hockey player, and Jorge Alvarez (Madrid, Spain) the first Sun Devils player from outside the U.S.. He comes to the team from Spain's premier national inline league.
Also joining the D2 Devils this year are 2 players who skated all of last season for the D1 team. Zach Medlock (Gilbert, AZ) had 13 points in 14 games and Matt Hamilton (Mesa, AZ) had 20 points in 14 games for the D1 squad and both will be dominant players for the D2 team this year.
The last addition to the roster, giving the Sun Devils a group of 12 skaters expected to compete with any team in the country, is defenseman Chris Longo (Mesa, AZ). Longo will instantly be 1 of the Devils' top defensive players, having many years of experience in AAA hockey with the Tour Outcasts.
