“I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t want to come here,” Maniscalco said of his new home in the Southwest. “Our locker room is fantastic. Our weight room is fantastic. We have all the details.”

So, Maniscalco, a native of Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania, took a chance. He packed his bags after three years in the USHL (2015-17 with NTDP, 2017-18 with Dubuque) and dashed for the desert to join an upstart program in merely its fourth year at the top level of college hockey.

“I was actually talking to a buddy who I played with at Shattuck (St. Mary’s) who committed here,” Maniscalco said in his recall of a 2016 conversation with teammate Gage Mackie. “The next day I had a phone call with Coach (Greg) Powers. ASU actually played the U18s a couple weeks later and I sat down and had breakfast with the staff.”

The two teams met on the ice four times across Arizona State’s first two years as a Division I program, which resulted in a pair of victories and one tie for the NTDP. Since then, the Sun Devils have seen an influx of talent from major junior leagues, including a large contingency from the United States Hockey League.

While Maniscalco’s tie to USA Hockey might be the most significant haul, the current edition of Arizona State’s roster also features alums of the Sioux City Musketeers, Chicago Steel, Muskegon Lumberjacks, Dubuque Fighting Saints, Green Bay Gamblers and Omaha Lancers. Maniscalco’s managed to connect with all of his former USHL opponents in the hope of collectively establishing a new chapter at Arizona State.

We don’t have any excuses of being a new program. We know we can compete.

“It’s sunny all the time,” Maniscalco said. “It’s tank tops and flip flops. I don’t even remember the last time I wore a pair of other shoes outside.”

Hopping on the slippery surface at Oceanside Ice Arena not only offers relief from the dry heat, but also a glimpse toward the future. Arizona State hockey’s future address is an on-campus facility adjacent to the multi-purpose Wells Fargo Arena. The move could be competed by 2020-21.

Direct investment from the athletic administration, combined with a fervent desire to open new doors for college hockey, makes for exciting prospects in Tempe.