Photos: ASU hockey season - 2018-19

Jeff Metcalfe | The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona State hockey will travel to China in July and August, a first for an American college hockey team.

ASU will play three games including against the Chinese Olympic team on Aug. 3. ASU redshirt freshman Peter Zhong is one of three Chinese-born players in NCAA Division I hockey.

The Sun Devils will travel to Beijing and Shanghai.

For the past three years, ASU and the Pac-12 have partnered with the Federation University Sports China and the Chinese Scholarship Council to train Chinese coaches in Tempe.

The coaching education alliance is part of the Pac-12 Global relationship to foster exchange between the U.S. and China through sports.

"There are nearly 4,000 Chinese students currently enrolled at ASU, and we continue to expand partnerships with top Chinese universities and the Federation University Sports China, so it is evident the ASU connection with China is strong and is fitting for our hockey program to champion the sport in another non-traditional market," ASU Vice President for Athletics Ray Anderson said in a statement.

ASU hockey is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in its fourth season as a varsity program and third playing a full Division I schedule.

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