It was only five years ago that Arizona State embarked on its first full Division I hockey campaign.

The season-opening matchup? A tall task at an iconic landmark - the University of Notre Dame.

ASU lost those games, 9-2 and 4-2, in what was a waking moment for the program looking to just get their feet on the ground.

The Sun Devils don’t have anyone on their current roster from the 2016-2017 days, however, Arizona State head coach Greg Powers has the moment fresh in his mind.

“The staff certainly hasn’t forgotten about it,” Powers said. “We’ll be ready.”

Ready, they were.

No. 20 Arizona State ironed out a hard-fought split with No. 16 Notre Dame at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana.

After a thrilling 6-3 series-opening victory, Notre Dame’s late tally with five seconds left in the finale lifted the Fighting Irish to a 5-4 victory.

“It’s a hell of a split against a very good hockey team,” Powers said. “The nature of how we didn’t get a sweep hurts. This has to be a loss that we learn from, not a loss that sets us back.”

ASU (3-4-1) was on the big stage with their contests against the Fighting Irish airing on NHL Network Thursday night and on NBC Sports Network Friday night.

“It’s a huge plus for us,” Powers said. “When you get a win against a really good hockey team on national television, it bodes well for your brand and for your program we’re still building. We’re proud to represent our university.”

Freshman forward Ryan O’Reilly could get used to the spotlight.

The Detroit Red Wing draft pick jumped right out of the gate, darting past a defender and snuck the puck far side past Notre Dame netminder Ryan Bischel to give ASU an early jolt of offense. The 11-second strike is the fastest goal from the start of a game in program history.

“It’s good to score in your first shift,” O’Reilly said. “I haven’t played on this big of a platform in my entire life. It’s kind of a dream. To get this exposure for our team and ourselves is really cool. I have a lot of friends watching and family back home who can’t really be here at the games, so it’s nice for them to see us on television.”

Freshman forward Matthew Kopperud has stepped up nicely as a consistent scoring threat in Johnny Walker’s absence, picking up a pair of goals and a secondary assist in the series-opening victory.

Kopperud followed with another multi-point performance, scoring two goals and assist in the 5-4 loss.

“I’m definitely playing with a lot more confidence in my shot,” Kopperud said. “I have been able to trust my linemates [Demetrios Koumontzis and Jordan Sandhu], which makes scoring a lot easier… I just find the open ice, and they’re finding me in a good spot I can shoot it.”

The undrafted winger has had no problem creating space and time with his quick release, really making his presence known on the ice. Kopperud’s hard work at practice has paid off, pacing the Sun Devils with six goals and 11 points. He also leads all freshmen in the country in scoring.

Powers has received some big contributions from the team’s newcomers following over the impressive battles against Big Ten heavyweights.

“There’s a reason why they’re a top-five class,” Powers said. “They’re all tremendous players. I said prior that they have the purest talent and skill of any freshman class that we’ve brought in; they can all play.”

Junior goaltender Evan DeBrouwer has held his ground comfortably after a rough patch in Michigan, making 31 saves on 34 shot attempts in the opening night. DeBrouwer came up with a few key stops in the third period along with the team’s gradually improving defense in game one.

“What I’m most proud of was as the game goes on, defensively we got better and better. We did what we needed to do. We weren’t doing that first period. As the game wore on, we were more disciplined and smarter with the puck. That’s how you close out games.”

Unfortunately, the Sun Devils couldn’t rinse and repeat.

With a 4-2 lead heading into the third period, the Fighting Irish tacked on three straight on 22 shots, including the reviewed game-winner by Notre Dame junior defenseman Nick Leivermann’s toe-drag and blast with 5.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

“You can’t just camp out in the crease and stay there,” Powers said of the first reviewed goal. “You have to get out, and he didn’t. He impeded Brady’s fight to make the save, so I’ll to my grave thinking that shouldn’t have counted, but it is what it is.”

In the national spotlight, the Sun Devils dressed to impress too.

ASU donned faux-back uniforms based on the undefeated 1975 Sun Devils football team’s gear.

“I thought they were really sharp,” Powers said,” It’s a bummer we couldn’t get a win in them, but Jon [Laughner] did a great job putting them together.”

“Those were nasty,” Kopperud said, “I think they looked too good on us, considering we got distracted in the third period, but they’re good-looking jerseys.”

The Sun Devils look to shake off the gut-punch finish and shift into another gear on their lengthy road trip through the Midwest. Next up, they reach Happy Valley for a showdown with Penn State Nittany Lions next weekend.

“We got to move on right now,” Kopperud said. “We have to start worrying about Penn State and how we’re going to beat them next week.”