Arizona State came into Friday night's game in second place in the NCHC conference after No. 16 North Dakota beat ASU in overtime last weekend. However, due to No. 4 Western Michigan beating the Fighting Hawks earlier in the day, a win over No. 15 St. Cloud State would catapult the Sun Devils into the top spot.
After going down 3-1 in the second period with the Huskies ringing off three straight goals, Arizona State (12-8-1, 7-4 NCHC) answered with five combined goals in the second and third periods to claim the top spot in the conference with a 6-3 win over St. Cloud State (11-10, 4-7 NCHC). The two teams will be back on the ice Saturday night, with ASU looking for its second straight road sweep of the season after beating then-No.1 Denver in both games earlier in the year.
Coming out of the gates, the Sun Devils looked a bit sluggish, but they still managed to score the first goal after they got out to an odd-man rush. Freshman forward Cullen Potter ripped a shot past graduate goalie Gavin Enright. Soon after, the Huskies responded with a power play goal, and the first period ended with the game knotted up 1-1.
Coming into the game, St. Cloud State was one of the best faceoff teams in the country at 54.5%, sixth in the country, while Arizona State won only 49.1% of its faceoffs. While this rang true in the game, with the Huskies winning 39 of the 59 faceoffs, it didn’t translate to offensive opportunities.
The Sun Devils swarmed the puck and forced the Huskies to take low-quality shots from bad angles or with bodies in the shooting lane. It also didn’t help St. Cloud State’s case that ASU had junior Gibson Homer in the crease, who’s on the Mike Richter Award Watch List for the top goalie in the NCAA.
In the second period, St. Cloud State took a 3-1 lead after two quick goals within five minutes, but the Sun Devils gained momentum after successfully killing a 5-on-3. ASU’s passes and overall chances were more fluid, and they got more pucks on net, which resulted in the Sun Devils scoring three unanswered goals, all within five minutes of each other.
Head coach Greg Powers mentioned earlier in the week that the team needed to capitalize on special teams. The first four goals of the game for ASU were all at even strength. But once the Sun Devils went on their first power play early in the third period, the fifth-best penalty kill in the nation was put to the test.
The first 75 seconds of ASU’s power play saw very little action as the Huskies backed up their impressive numbers by limiting the chances for the Sun Devils to find any window to fit a puck through. But eventually, the man advantage proved to be too much as senior forward Ryan Kirwan ripped a wrist shot that ricocheted off the glass, and sophomore forward Kyle Smolen batted the puck out of the air, over Enright’s right pad, and into the net.
Desperation began to creep in for the Huskies as time winded down and the 5-3 deficit loomed over their heads. With just over four minutes remaining in the game and an offensive zone faceoff, they pulled Enright and put an extra attacker out on the ice, but still, the Sun Devils continued to swarm to the puck and erase any momentum the Huskies tried to build up.
After multiple attempts to fire the puck down the ice, Kirwan lifted a shot over everyone’s head as it trickled down the ice and into the empty net to shut the door on any possible comeback. While ASU will need to clean up the penalties after committing four, the Sun Devils are in prime position to take a suffocating lead on the NCHC if they can complete the road sweep tomorrow. With Homer producing yet another quality start for his third straight win, it would not be a surprise to see him back in the crease tomorrow evening.
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