Robert Levin is a man of action, not words.
On a chilly Tuesday morning inside Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, the home of Sun Devil hockey, the senior goaltender exited the ice after practice and removed his mask. He was calm and serious, even though he just beat No. 10 Ohio State on national television three days prior.
When asked about his landmark performance, his answer was simple: “I just try to do what I can do.”
Indeed, Levin has done a lot for a program that has come a long way. In his freshman year for ASU club hockey team, Levin was awarded tournament MVP in the 2014 American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championship – a national championship that ASU won.
During his sophomore season, Levin posted a 28-3 record with nine shutouts and a 1.78 goals against average. His junior year was ASU’s ‘hybrid’ schedule, which included club opponents and NCAA opponents – that year, he shared the netminding duties with freshman Ryland Pashovitz.
As Levin finishes his career, his team is now a Division I NCAA program. Levin lead the team this season in minutes played (645), fewest goals against (34), save percentage (.895), goals against average (3.16), win percentage (.545) and shutouts (one––the first NCAA shutout in program history).
Big save #2 by Levin late in the 3rd period to keep the deficit to one & give his team a chance! #TheRobber pic.twitter.com/HOdzCSOpsg
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 14, 2017
“It’s been a great experience," Levin said. "Really, I couldn’t have imagined it. I came here, we were a great program and it was awesome winning the club championship. If you told me my senior year that we’d be playing against this top-end competition, I would’ve never imagined it. It was really amazing to see.”
Head coach Greg Powers said it will be difficult to see Levin leave the team.
“He’s a tough one (to lose) obviously, because he’s such a good kid and he works so hard,” Powers said. “The guys in the room just love him. He’s a kid that positively affects our program whether he plays or not. He’s just good to have around.”
Part of Levin’s effect on the team included mentoring younger players.
“He’s kind of taken me under his wing a little bit,” said freshman goalie Joey Daccord. “I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned from him is that you’ve got to take it one game at a time. You can’t be too focused on your last game. The game he played before maybe wasn’t his best game of the year, but then he bounces back and beats the No. 10 team in the country.”
Powers, a former goaltender himself for ASU’s club team, agreed that Levin helps players like Daccord and Pashovitz.
“He’s a really good influence on the younger goalies,” he said. “So we’re going to miss him. Any time you lose a kid who’s been there for four years, you’re going to miss intangibles that they’ve brought to the table to help evolve your program. He’s certainly one of them.”
After hockey, Levin said he hopes to go to law school and keep in touch with Powers––maybe then, he will see how much further the program goes.
“It’s been a great four years, but at the same time it’s been really cool to see how far they’ve come from my freshman year and it’s been great to be a part of it," he said.
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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