It was hard to know what to expect out of the No. 20 Arizona State Sun Devils (8-4-1) following last weekend’s narrow win and then tie against one-win Vermont, in what was the team’s first game action in three weeks.
All doubters were once again silenced tonight, however, as ASU notched a 4-1 victory over the No. 4 Denver Pioneers (9-4-2). This is the third victory over a top-10 team this season by the Sun Devils, all in Tempe, but the highest-ranked opponent they have now beaten not just this season but in program history.
“We expect to beat everybody we play, it’s a genuine belief,” coach Greg Powers said. “Obviously, anybody can clearly beat anybody, just our schedule alone has proven that this year.”
Junior forward Johnny Walker, already ASU’s leading goal-scorer coming into the night, shook off a three-game goal drought by earning himself a hat trick, running his goal tally up to nine on the season. Sophomore goalie Evan DeBrouwer would save 33 of Denver’s 34 shots on the night, which equates to a .970 save percentage, as the Sun Devils never really seemed like they lost control of the game’s momentum. “It’s a huge win, what a great program they have, you know, just as good as it gets in college hockey,” Powers said. “It’s definitely a defining moment for us, but like I told the guys, as soon as we walk out of the building tonight, we’ve got to be over it.
“We’re at home, and we’re going out to Gila River (Arena in Glendale) tomorrow, and it doesn’t matter who it is. If it’s Denver, Mercyhurt, or Vermont, it doesn’t matter, the expectation that we have in our room is to sweep at home, and tomorrow we have a chance to do that.”
Much like ASU’s last time playing a top-10 team at Oceanside, when they swept then No. 9 Quinnipiac just over a month ago, the team got off to a fast start once again. It was only 5:05 into the game when a nice neutral-zone pass from sophomore forward Jordan Sandhu set up a nice opportunity for junior forward Johnny Walker.
Walker would control the puck and rip a beautiful wrist shot from just above, but slightly inside the right face-off dot that tucked just under the top left corner, giving the Sun Devils the early 1-0 advantage.
“(Sandhu) made a great rink-wide pass…on what they were doing through the neutral zone, so we made a little adjustment there,” Walker said. “Great pass, and just put it at the net.”
ASU had already outshot UD (6-4 after the goal) and gotten better chances to that point in the game, and the goal only added to their momentum. The Sun Devils would get five of the next six shots between both teams, with three of them going on goal, spanning the following four-plus minutes.
The Pioneers would get a couple of nice, point-blank chances at about the midpoint of the first, the closest they got to scoring on one of many rebound opportunities DeBrouwer gave up off saves. Credit goes to the Sun Devil defense for being in the right position and not allowing many actual shots off these rebound chances.
“I got a little bit lucky on a few plays with some rebounds,” DeBrouwer admitted. “My d-men were right there like they’ve been all year, so it makes my job a lot easier when you really just have to make the first save (to prevent a goal).”
A hooking penalty on junior defenseman Jacob Wilson would test the Sun Devil defense even more, but DeBrouwer and the penalty kill unit would manage to hold the fort. It was the first of five successful penalty kills by ASU on the night, not allowing a single Pioneers goal all game while they had the man advantage.
UD would come to regret not capitalizing on this man advantage just as much as the four that would ensue, as an even more impressive lead pass to Walker from Sandhu led to another ASU goal 15:53 into the contest. Walker would track down the puck, and beat Denver’s last line of defense in doing so, and with only the UD goalie to beat, he broke freshman netminder Magnus Chrona’s ankles to backhand one into an empty net.
“Again, (Sandhu) with a little Rory backspin on that one, just a sick pass,” Walker commented, referencing star PGA Tour golfer Rory McIlroy in describing the superb assist from his teammate.
Sandhu would get his fourth and fifth assists of the season on those goals, and DeBrouwer actually tallied a hockey assist on that second one, which was only fitting as the Sun Devils took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, despite the Pioneers outshooting ASU 14-9 by that point.
“Clearly, I knew he was going to get two great assists in the first period,” Powers joked about Sandhu, who he switched with sophomore forward Demetrios Koumontzis on the Walker line for the first time tonight.
“It was more really to get Koumo going, he really defers a lot, especially playing with (Walker), and Koumo’s a hell of a player, and we need him going, and tonight he was going.”
In the second, Denver seemed like they were on the verge of breaking through on the scoreboard, even though their total shot count for the period would only be 11 (ASU would get eight).
A hooking penalty on junior ASU forward James Sanchez only a minute into the period—the first of three Sun Devil penalties in the frame—seemed like it could give Denver the opportunity they needed. But the Sun Devils held firm, thanks to three saves by DeBrouwer plus a shot block by senior defenseman and captain Brinson Pasichnuk.
“I was busy tonight, but I thought that there weren’t a lot of ‘grade-A’ chances,” DeBrouwer said. “It was one of those nights where as long as I made the first save, that was all I had to do. So, just goes to show you how bought-in our defensive side of the game is, and my defensemen are amazing”
Although Denver would get several good looks throughout the period, there were no huge scrums around the net with multiple chances at a time, as DeBrouwer said. Sophomore defenseman Jarrod Gourley and Pasichnuk both contributed to an increased physical presence, while junior Jacob Wilson was a huge part of ASU’s ability to control the puck, especially when shorthanded.
“I thought we managed the puck really well,” Powers commented. “We made it tough on them, and that’s a hell of a team, and they gave us a push, but what I really liked was we didn’t sit back. We stayed playing the way we need to play to have a chance to beat a team like that.”
After a scoreless second, the Pioneers certainly found their sense of urgency coming into the final 20 minutes. Denver would get nine of the period’s first 10 shots and for the first time all night, it really did feel like ASU was playing on its heels at that point.
This came to fruition 10:34 into the period, when junior forward Jaakko Heikkinen slotted one just beneath the crossbar off a nice, offensive zone cross-ice pass from sophomore forward Brett Stapley, putting Denver on the board and cutting ASU’s lead in half in doing so.
Certainly, the Pioneers' goal made for a tense finish to the game, but as one would expect from a team confident in its own abilities, the Sun Devils would prove unfazed.
“I thought (the response to the third period goal) was tremendous,” Powers stated. “They really didn’t have too many ‘grade-A’s’ (scoring chances) after that, our guys really ramped it up. That’s what I liked, there was no panic. There was zero panic on our bench. We believed, from top to bottom, everybody believed.”
As a matter of fact, it would Denver who would shoot themselves in the foot as a result of ASU’s stellar play down the stretch. Senior forward Liam Finlay got tabbed for a hooking call, putting the Sun Devils on a two-minute power play, leading by a goal with 2:48 left in the game.
With 1:20 to play, freshman defenseman Jack Judson slammed a slap shot on net, and Walker would tip it in to complete the hat trick and all but seal the victory, ASU leading 3-1 at that point.
“We have to reload hard, and stay above pucks, and have active sticks, and we executed how we have to play tonight,” Powers said. “The forecheck was a big part of it, putting pressure on them and not giving them a lot of time and space to break it out of their zone.
“So, all four lines were going, and our D was going, and (DeBrouwer) just keeps getting better every game…there’s a reason why his teammates voted him ‘Best Practice Player’ last year…he’s doing what we knew he could do, and he’s just got a nice calming presence back there, and the guys believe in him and you can see it in their play.”
An empty-net goal by senior forward Brett Gruber, his first of the season in his third game back from injury earlier in the year, was the final nail in the coffin of ASU’s three-goal, upset victory.
The Sun Devils return to action Saturday, when they host the Pioneers again, his time at Gila River Arena in Glendale at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
