Here’s some info on the inaugural Desert Hockey Classic:
The details
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz.
Friday’s schedule: Connecticut (6-12-1) vs. Michigan Tech (11-7-2), 5 p.m. MST; No. 12 Yale (7-4-2) at Arizona State (5-15), 8 p.m.
Sunday’s schedule: Connecticut or Michigan Tech vs. Yale, noon MST; Connecticut or Michigan Tech at Arizona State, 3 p.m.
TV: Friday’s Yale-Arizona State game is on Pac-12 Network.
Notes to know
Connecticut didn’t fare very well at the Mariucci Classic even if it did push host Minnesota to the limit in the semis. The good thing is the Huskies have been in Arizona all week — they earned a 5-2 win over Arizona State on Tuesday — which means they are used to the surroundings and won’t have to travel too close to game day.
Michigan Tech will play its third and fourth straight games in an NHL arena; the Huskies were runners-up at the Great Lakes Invitational at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 29 and 30. Brent Baltus was named the WCHA’s offensive player of the week after scoring twice and adding an assist in the two games.
Yale heads west after picking up from a lengthy break from games that count with a 3-2 tie at Massachusetts on Tuesday. Goalie Alex Lyon and defensemen Rob O’Gara and Ryan Obuchowski anchor an outstanding back end, and the Bulldogs could get back forward Ryan Hitchcock, who earned a bronze medal with the U.S. World Junior team in Finland.
An Arizona State team that has lost each of its past six games and hasn’t won since Nov. 14 faces another tough customer in Yale on Friday. Jordan Masters scored two goals in Tuesday’s loss to UConn, the Sun Devils’ first home game against a Division I team. Masters has a team-high eight goals; no one else has more than three.
Social snippet
Is it Friday yet? #mtuhky #DesertHockeyClassic pic.twitter.com/el0khkNovL
— Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) January 7, 2016
Contributing: Jim Connelly, Nate Owen, Matthew Semisch
