ASU Hockey Home Opener Marred by Ongoing Fallout From Player’s Collapse

Friday night’s Arizona State men’s hockey home opener was missing key members, both on the bench and behind it, in the continued fallout from the preseason workout that left 21-year-old defenseman Matthew Mayich on life support.

The Sun Devils hosted Holy Cross at Mullett Arena without head coach Greg Powers, who was put on paid administrative leave before the team’s season opener at Lindenwood. ASU took the action following a letter from seven anonymous players disputing the school’s account of the workout. But also absent Friday was associate head coach Alex Hicks, replaced instead by NHL veteran and former Phoenix Coyote Taylor Pyatt, who was listed as a “volunteer associate head coach” on the line chart. 

ASU has not identified why Hicks, who coached last week in Missouri, was not with the team in Tempe, nor has it commented on his employment status. Speaking last week to Bridget Condon on Front Office Sports Tonight, Mayich family lawyer Leonard Aragorn called Hicks the “right-hand man and enforcer” to Powers. 

Also missing were three players who skated during the first two games at Lindenwood. Sophomore forwards Ben Kevan and Olivier Houde and junior forward Nic Chin-DeGraves were listed as three of five healthy scratches. It’s not confirmed why any of the players were not on the ice, but College Hockey News reported that at least one cited removing himself from the lineup for personal reasons and was expected to return once a new interim head coach is in place. 

ASU is expected to name one early next week, with two to three candidates reportedly in the late stages of the recruiting process. The new interim coach, who will be able to put together his own staff, will be in place at least until ASU completes its independent review of the Aug. 20 outdoor workout that was run by ex–Green Beret Tim Zeisel and not authorized via official Sun Devil Athletics channels. (The hockey team’s athletic trainer, Amanda Doyle, was reassigned to another team earlier this week; ASU did not respond to FOS‘s questions about her employment status or the reasoning behind her transfer.) 

The findings from the investigation, which was handed over from the ASU Police Department to a former Arizona State Supreme Court chief justice last week, are expected in early December.

However, the process might have become even more complicated. The Arizona Republic reported Friday night that following Aug. 20, Powers may have replaced his work cell phone that could contain media from the workout and communication among coaching staff. Aragorn raised concern in a letter to ASU General Counsel Lisa Loo that “relevant evidence has been destroyed.”

Before Friday’s game in Tempe, Mayich’s jersey hung in a locker-room stall. ASU fell to Holy Cross 2–1. They will play a second matchup on Saturday afternoon.

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