It started as a great weekend for the Arizona State Sun Devils, as they dominated in every aspect in game one, beating the Colorado College Tigers 4-1. Game two was another story, as ASU led 4-1 with roughly 14 minutes to go in the third period. Charlie Schoen’s second goal of the night ignited a sold-out crowd, while everyone in the building assumed ASU would be well on their way to victory.
That didn’t happen, as ASU allowed five goals in the third period, splitting their second series against the Tigers. It was a roller coaster of emotions for everyone in the building, and what looked like a guaranteed win turned into an ugly loss.
ASU also dropped to 13th in the PairWise standings after entering last night’s game at ten. With lots to talk about, here is the weekend’s recap.
All Cylinders Firing in Game 1 Against the Tigers
With most students back at campus after winter break, it was a packed barn at Mullett Arena during game one; as announced, it was a sellout with 5,150 in the building. Since the Sun Devils swept Denver University in late November, they’ve been on an unheard-of tear. It’s truly been a special season to watch the adversity early on with injuries and adjusting to a new conference, which happens to be one of the best in the NCAA.
“Through our independent era, we tried to play the toughest schedule that we could, so we’ve played all these teams,” head coach Greg Powers said. “We understand what they’re about and how difficult they are to play, but if you look back historically at our program, we’ve always played up to the competition. We always seem to rise to challenges when we play really good teams, and this is the league with everybody that’s really, really good. Our guys really embraced the great competition, and it is the SEC of college hockey; six of the last eight national champs.”
They were able to step up to the plate in game one against the Tigers after a slow first period where there were only a combined 12 shots between both teams. Coming into the second period, the floodgates were released, thanks to the sophomore Cole Gordon, who scored thanks to a nice play by junior Ryan Alexander, who made it 1-0.
“RA (Ryan Alexander) made a good dish for me, and then I got lucky there at the end,” Gordon said, laughing. “We’re kind of slow off the start, and in intermission, coach said to go in front of the net, so I kind of had to.”
That was the first of three goals scored in the second period for ASU, as later it was the captain Ethan Szmagaj, scoring his first goal of the season in only his 13th game of the season. Then it was Dylan Jackson on a tic-tac-toe play, which gave the Sun Devils the 3-0 lead heading into the third intermission.
Luke Pavicich had a shutout going for him until Owen Beckner scored with a little under ten minutes to go in the second, but even though he didn’t face a lot, he was solid throughout the entire night. ASU also scored in each way possible: shorthanded, power play, and even strength, which is a testament to the kind of players they have on the ice no matter the situation, which helped them get the 4-1 win in game one.
Brutal Loss for Sun Devils in Game 2
Charlie Schoen scored a beautiful goal to make it 4-1 in the third period. The student section was on their feet jumping, the crowd was into the game, and all seemed well for ASU. Unfortunately for the sold-out crowd (for back-to-back nights), they blew their three-goal lead, resulting in one of the uglier losses this season.
“Credit to them for not going away,” Powers said following the crushing 5-4 defeat. “They played a really hard period after going down 4-1. You just got to get through a couple of shifts, and the game’s over. I think they scored less than ten seconds after our fourth goal, and that gave them life.”
Life indeed, as after that first goal in roughly eight minutes, they took the lead and never gave it back, which is a testament to their team, as Powers said. They never went away, as most teams call it quits after being down 4-1 in the third period.
On the bright side, Schoen and Ryan Kirwan had two goals each, and they were the entire offense for the Sun Devils in game two. Kirwan now has a team-leading 16 goals on the season and seems to shine in the biggest moments, and while he had an A-level day, it wasn’t enough for the win.
“They’re pretty much two of our only guys really going,” Powers said. “It was one of those games, even the second period, I didn’t love. Gibby (Gibson Homer) made some big saves to keep in it, but the penalties; last night we took a too many men on a bad change, and tonight on a kill, two guys jump for the same guy, and it’s just elementary stuff.”
There were too many mistakes for ASU at the wrong time, resulting in the 5-4 loss. Powers said he is excited to see how they can bounce back next weekend, as they’ll travel to Miami of Ohio.
Onto Miami of Ohio
With no more off weekends for the rest of the season, ASU has another NCHC opponent on the schedule as they travel to the University of Miami of Ohio next weekend. Last season, they tied and lost to Redhawks away but are hoping for a different outcome this season. With teams like Denver University and Western Michigan still on the schedule, they can’t take any nights off, especially in the NCHC, regardless of where the team ranks (Miami of Ohio in last place out of the nine NCHC teams).