3 things we learned from Inferno Insider’s interview with ASU hockey forward Johnny Walker
Only four years into competing as an NCAA Division I team, ASU men’s hockey has catapulted itself into the upper echelons of college hockey. The team will be playing in its first NCAA Tournament starting March 30.
Before this season, ASU men’s hockey’s best season ended with eight wins. This season, the team is ending with a record of 21 wins, 12 losses and one tie, ranking as one of the top 15 teams in the country.
Jacob Phillabaum, a senior studying business and president of the Inferno Insiders at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, interviewed forward Johnny Walker recently to get his perspective on the success the new team has built.
“We had a tough season last year, toward the bottom of college hockey, and it was hard to get a gauge of where we were going to be,” sophomore forward Johnny Walker, one of the five highest scoring players in the country, said in a recent interview with Inferno Insiders.
ASU hockey forward Johnny Walker
“It’s turned out to be very successful, and we’re getting the results we want, but I’d be lying if I said that I thought we’d be sitting where we are right now at the end of last year. But when I saw the group of guys that we have this year, it’s not surprising at all.”
Here are three things you should know about ASU men’s hockey going into their first NCAA Tournament.
Walker and junior goaltender Joey Daccord have both been nominated for the prestigious Hobey Baker Memorial Award, an annual award given to college hockey’s most valuable player. Walker is one of the highest scoring players in the country, while Daccord leads the nation in wins, shutouts, saves and save percentages.With 21 wins, seven shutouts and a .936 save percentage, Daccord has also been named one of 10 semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award, an annual award given to college hockey’s top goaltender.At Championship Weekend, the ASU men’s hockey team faced off against some of the best teams in the country and ended with a record of 11-6-1.
Be sure to cheer on the Sun Devils as they face Quinnipiac in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on March 30 at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time in the first round of the tournament. The winning teams of each of the four regions will compete in the Frozen Four in Buffalo, New York. If ASU wins this weekend, the team will be competing in the Frozen Four for the first time in its history. Go Devils!