Icing on this season's cake. ??



We're looking forward to 2019-20 and making more noise. ?? pic.twitter.com/JKUHquGXjI — Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) April 15, 2019

7?? bachelors

4?? masters degrees

4?? Founding Fathers

1?? Historical year in 2018-19#SunDevilsGraduate ?? pic.twitter.com/SmtF6XCYgg — Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) May 7, 2019

By making the NCAA Tournament this season, @SunDevilHockey is making huge strides since joining the @NCAAIceHockey Division I field in 2015-16.



On the turning point of the program, the team's mantra, the group's upcoming trip to China and more.

??? https://t.co/YLxU4HPClv pic.twitter.com/QDp5rE53I8 — USA Hockey Magazine (@USAHMagazine) June 4, 2019

Each Sun Devil head coach is asked in mid-June to pick one ... just one ... Sun Devil Coach of the Year in honor of Frank Kush.The award -- presented around the anniversary of Coach Kush's passing (June 22, 2017) -- is one way for each coach to recognize a peer that impressed them the most. The rules and guidelines are... well, none.They can vote for someone who earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors, a coach who made an impression in their first year, or simply the nicest coach in the building. Once tallied, one coach earns what one would consider the ultimate show of respect, an award from their peers in the 26-sport department.In 2017-18, softball coachearned the initial honor after leading her team to the College World Series in Oklahoma City.This year's winner is a head coach of a sport that wasn't even in existence four years ago, yet advanced to the NCAA Tournament and has everyone in the hockey world buzzing about the potential., a graduate of Arizona State, is the 2018-19 winner of the Frank Kush Award."We have world-class head coaches at ASU, and to be recognized by them is an honor words can't do justice," said Powers. "To take it a step further, Frank Kush is the standard here and is synonymous with Sun Devil Athletics. To receive an award with his name on it is any true Sun Devils' dream. Lastly, any head coach is only as good as those he surrounds himself with, and I have surrounded myself with the best staff and group of players imaginable. This award is every bit as much theirs as it is mine."The 2018-19 Spencer Penrose Award finalist, which is annually awarded to Division I hockey's Coach of the Year, helped lead the hockey program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance after a 13-win turnaround (21-13-1) in 2018-19. The historical season under coach Powers is highlighted by becoming the fastest start-up NCAA Division I program to qualify for the postseason.Hockey broke a number of records, including first 20-win season, first victory over a top-10 opponent, first time being ranked in the USCHO or USA Hockey Magazine/USA Today poll, and highest ever ranking at No. 11 at one point during the season. Junior goaltenderalso became the program's first CCM/AHCA All-American selection and Mike Richter Finalist after a remarkable season between the pipes. He ended up becoming the first Sun Devil to sign an NHL entry-level contract on April 1, and three days later became the first player in program history to play in an NHL game on April 4 for the Ottawa Senators.The honor follows the tradition set by outstanding Sun Devil Club members Carl and Cher Maltese, who in spring of 2018 worked with several members within Sun Devil Athletics and the Wings of Gold Committee to create, establish and award the inauguralCoach of the Year award. The Vollstedt Award was designed to be given to the ASU coach who best represents the temperaments, talents and convictions fostered by Coachand who continually strives to ensure that the young women entrusted to him/her achieve overall excellence as students, athletes and citizens.The inaugural award was presented to Sun Devil Women's Golf head coach

ABOUT FRANK KUSH

Frank Kush led the Sun Devils to six victories in seven bowl games, including the 1970 Peach Bowl and 1975 Fiesta Bowl where the team capped off two undefeated seasons. The Peach Bowl marked ASU's first bowl game in 19 years and the Fiesta Bowl win pushed the Sun Devils to second in the national rankings, the highest ever under Kush. With Kush's 1975 team finishing second in the national rankings, he was named the National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and the Walter Camp Foundation. Aside from producing winning teams, Kush coached nearly 40 All-Americans and more than 125 NFL players, including 10 first-round draft picks and 17 Pro Bowlers.

An Arizona State and College Football Hall of Fame inductee and the winningest coach in Sun Devil Football history, Coach Kush passed away on June 22, 2017, at 88. He started his career at ASU in 1955 as an assistant under former head coach Dan Devine. Three seasons later, on Dec. 22, 1957, Kush became the 15th football coach in Arizona State history and the rest is ASU, Phoenix, college football, Tempe and state of Arizona history. He went on to win 176 games, the most in school history, across 21.5 seasons and was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. He led his team to seven Western Athletic Conference Championships and guided the Sun Devils to winning seasons in 19 of his 22 years.