Arizona State coach Greg Powers stood outside the Sun Devils’ locker room Saturday night clutching some brand-new hardware.
At the bottom, in all capital letters, it bore the word “Champions.”
It’s a title that had never yet been used to describe the Sun Devils hockey team, one that is competing in just its second full season at the Division I level.
But Saturday, Arizona State beat Michigan Tech 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena to win the inaugural Ice Vegas Invitational. A night before, it ousted Northern Michigan 7-3.
“To win a trophy, we’re not in a conference, we’re not going to play in the national tournament this year — that’s hopefully sooner than later — so one of our main goals preseason was to win one of our two tournaments,” Powers said.