Dave Hakstol, coach of the Kraken for their first three seasons, has won his first two games behind the bench for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
ASU beat UMass-Lowell 5-4 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday in Lowell, Mass. Perhaps channeling ASU goaltending grad Joey Daccord, sophomore netminder Sam Urban recorded a career-high 42 saves in Saturday’s win.
We detailed the tragedy and controversy which led to ASU needing a new hockey coach here. Hakstol previously coached college hockey for 11 years, taking North Dakota to seven Frozen Fours.
Hakstol officially took the Arizona St. job Thursday, stepping away from his assistant coaching duties with the Colorado Avalanche. “This is a special opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to return to college hockey and bring a winning culture to Sun Devil Hockey. Our goal is to grow a championship-caliber program, and we will.”
The coach elaborated after Friday’s first win. “Walking into the room with this group of guys really solidified in my mind how great of an opportunity this is.
“There’s certainly nothing easy or typical about the timing of this. What we have to do as a group is work hard together to fill in all the blanks in terms of where we want to get to. It’s going to be a process. I’m going to enjoy this process.”
Earlier Kraken:
— Kraken Make No Excuse For Florida Debacle
