ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the better part of his first four seasons in the big leagues, defense was a massive struggle for Jo Adell.

He graded out poorly in just about every defensive metric there was, not to mention the occasional blunders worthy of an appearance on SportsCenter's Not Top 10 plays. But in 2024, he started to turn a corner.

And on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Angel Stadium, Adell put his past demons to bed.

TEMPE — Coach Greg Powers and his Arizona State men’s hockey team are in familiar territory. A year ago, the Sun Devils started the season 3-7-1 before rattling off a 10-game win streak to ignite a run to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Now they are 3-6-1 and searching for that same spark.

Though they are eerily similar starts, it’s for two completely different reasons.

IRVINE, Calif. — There were moments in the last five years when Ducks prospect Will Francis was unsure if he’d be able to live his dream of playing professional hockey.

The Ducks 2019 sixth-round pick was dealt with news that no one could truly prepare for in the spring of 2020. Francis was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The final horn sounded at Xcel Energy Center, concluding Arizona State’s head-turning first season in the NCHC. After the handshake line, the ice cleared out and remained barren with the exception of graduate forward Artem Shlaine, who was taking a knee on the ice with his head locked into place and eyes fixated on the ice below him.

Junior forward Tucker Ness hung out at ASU’s bench and allowed Shlaine to sit in his thoughts. Once Shlaine was ready to leave the ice, he skated to the bench where Ness was waiting. Ness gave Shlaine a hug, a tap on top of the helmet and then skated off. Shlaine took another moment before getting off the ice to scan the arena one last time.

“It’s the last time you’re going to put on an Arizona State hockey jersey,” Shlaine said. “It’s my last college hockey game. Just take it all in… I’m just remembering and taking it all in and wrapping it up on the ice.”

TEMPE — For a team that started the season 3-7-1 with a roster that was decimated with injuries to key players, and not to mention the external circumstances that hockey was facing in the state of Arizona, it was only fitting that Arizona State had to persevere through adversity to advance to the next round in playoffs.

“Even though it’s in Arizona, hockey belongs here, you can see the building rocking two nights in a row, like it’s special,” graduate forward Artem Shlaine said.

TEMPE, ARIZ. — When you watch a pitcher’s bullpen, you usually hear two things, the buzz of the ball and the pop of the catcher’s mitt. But when Ryan Johnson steps on the mound, you’ll hear the buzz of the ball, the pop of the catcher’s mitt and him snapping his fingers.

It may not be every pitch, but Johnson snaps his fingers four times after he finishes his delivery on most pitches.

“Buzz, pop, snap, snap, snap, snap”