Arizona State Sun Devils Men ' s Ice Hockey The Arizona State Sun Devils ice hockey team is the second of only two NCAA Division I ice hockey programs located in the southern half of the United States ( the other being Alabama – Huntsville ) . ASU announced plans to transition their ACHA men ' s hockey program to an NCAA varsity program on November 18 , 2014 . The Sun Devils will continue play in the ACHA in 2014 – 15 , play a hybrid schedule in 2015 – 16 with a mix of NCAA and ACHA competition , play as a Division I independent in 2016 – 17 and ( hopefully ) join a conference in 2017 – 18 . The school announced on April 29 , 2016 that it had applied to join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference . The school was hoping to join the conference for the 2018 - 19 season along with the Minnesota State - Mankato Mavericks who put in an application to join the confernce as well from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association . Both appications were denied by the NCHC . History . Hockey began as a sport at Arizona State in the early 80 ’ s with ASU students gathering at Tower Ice Plaza in Central Phoenix to play pick up hockey amongst each other . As collegiate club hockey evolved throughout the country , so did hockey at Arizona State . By the late 80 ’ s ASU was fielding a full - fledged Ice Hockey Team competing in Division II of the ACHA . In 1993 , General Manager Mike Hoffarth led the program to achieving ACHA Division I status propelling the Sun Devil Hockey Program into the national spotlight by qualifying for the ACHA Division I National Tournament just two years later in the 1995 - 96 season . Then Head Coach , Gene Hammett would lead the program to three straight National Tournament appearances from 1995 - 1998 . ASU has qualified for 10 ACHA Division I National Tournaments since competing at the Division I level in the American Collegiate Hockey Association , and developed 12 ACHA Division I All - Americans . In the 2013 - 2014 season the team won its first National Championship . In the 2015 - 2016 NCAA hockey season ASU played their first split schedule between ACHA Division 1 and NCAA Division 1 teams , marking their first transition year to become a full - time NCAA Division 1 hockey team . Player Hall of Fame Inductees Steve Hammett , Forward 1994 - 1998 : Inducted 2009 Greg Powers , Goaltender 1995 - 1999 : Inducted 2009 Adam Blossey , Defense 2001 - 2005 : Inducted 2009 Tony Bonacorso , Defense 2004 - 2008 , Inducted 2010 Ian Smith , Forward 1999 - 2003 , Inducted 2010 Executive Hall of Fame Inductees Gene Hammett , Head Coach 1992 - 2000 : Inducted 2008 Mike Hoffarth , General Manager 1988 - 1999 : Inducted 2008 Don Mullet , Donor : Inducted 2008 John Wold , Head Coach , General Manager , Oversight Committee 2001 – Present : Inducted 2009 Wayne Reid , Assistant Coach , Director of Hockey Ops , Oversight Committee 1992 – Present : Inducted 2009 National Tournament Appearances 1995 - 96 , 1996 – 97 , 1997 - 98 * , 2000 - 01 * , 2003 - 2004 , 2006 – 07 , 2009 – 10 , 2010 – 11 , 2011 – 12 , 2012 – 15 2013 , 2014 , 2015 ACHA Division I All - Americans Steve Hammett , Forward : 1997 - 98 Greg Powers , Goaltender : 1996 - 97 , 1997 – 98 , 1998 – 99 Ian Smith , Forward : 2000 - 01 , 2001 - 02 ( Team USA , World University Games 2002 ) Nils Satterstom , Forward : 2000 - 01 Adam Blossey , Defense : 2003 - 04 , 2004 - 05 ( Team USA , World University Games 2005 ) Tony Bonacorso , Defense : 2006 - 07 , 2007 - 08 ( Team USA , World University Games 2008 ) Joe Schweiger , Forward : 2008 - 2009 ( Eastern Michigan ) , 2009 – 10 , 2010 – 11 Mark Schacker , Goaltender : 2010 - 11 , 2011 – 12 Kale Dolinski , Forward : 2012 - 13 Colin Hekle , Forward : 2012 - 13 Ryan Clark , Defense : 2012 - 13 Joe D ’ Elia , Goaltender : 2012 - 13 Arena . Past and Present . For their first season , the Sun Devils will continue to call Oceanside Ice Arena home but they ' ll play multiple games in Glendale ' s Gila River Arena , home of the NHL ' s Arizona Coyotes . Oceanside currently seats only 500 but will undergo hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations to expand the capacity for the coming season as well as giving the facility a facelift in ASU colors . Future arena plans . The future home facility is still up in the air as ASU Athletic Director Ray Anderson continues to weigh options . A further renovated Oceanside Ice Arena could be used or some other off - campus location . The school could choose to renovate their basketball facility , Wells Fargo Arena , but that doesn ' t seem likely . The possiblility of the Arizona Coyotes working with the university to build a new facility in the city of Tempe had also been mentioned as the Coytotes are presently on a two year lease with the Gila River Arena that would expire at the end of the 2016 - 17 season . The earliest it is believed that a new arena could be completed woud be for the 2018 - 19 season . It has been reported that the NHL team would be closer to more of its fanbase by relocating to Tempe as opposed to staying in Glendale . Both ASU and the Coyotes have been open about working towards making this rink a reality . The pair have also stated that they would hope to host a future Frozen Four at the new facility . In early February of 2017 , the school backed out of the agreement with the Coyotes organization . The school was hoping that the new facility and the excitement brought to the school will catch on with other PAC - 12 schools . Cal - Berkeley , Colorado , Stanford UCLA , and USC are located near existing NHL teams and Washington is located in the same town as a Western Hockey League team . Utah is located in an area that has hosted minor league hockey in the AHL and ECHL . That would make 7 schools that are in areas that are familiar with the sport at a more competitive level , and give the conference the more than seven teams required for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament to its champion . The conference could also add affiliate members for ice hockey as they do in wrestling and men ' s soccer as there is presently no conference organized specifically for teams west of Colorado and the only other D - I programs in the region are located in the state of Alaska ( Alaska - Anchorage Seawolves and Alaska Nanooks based in Fairbanks ) both of which play in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association . The AHL , ECHL , and WHL have also been based in many of the states in the area and some schools elevating their programs from the club level ( and the American Collegiate Hockey Association ) would also be a possibility for other sources of teams to possibly form another conference separate from the PAC - 12 Coaches . Head coach . As the Sun Devils enter their first season of NCAA competition , Greg Powers will enter his sixth season as the team ' s head coach . Powers put together a 164 - 27 - 9 record during his five years as the head man behind the Devils ' bench in the ACHA including a dominating 39 - 1 - 0 record against rival Arizona . Prior to taking over as the head coach , Powers spent two seasons as an assistant coach for ASU . Powers is also a former member of the team having played four seasons as a goaltender for the Devils from 1995 - 96 to 1998 - 99 , earning All - American nods as a sophomore , junior , and senior . He was inducted into the club ' s Hall of Fame in 2009 .