For the third time in four games at home, No. 12 Arizona State required bonus hockey to determine a victor after No. 3 Western Michigan knotted the game at 3-3 with eight minutes to play in the third. ASU never trailed in either game for six periods and were a goal away from becoming the first team to sweep the Broncos heading into overtime.
The Sun Devils (18-12-2, 13-8-1 NCHC) had a handful of opportunities in the extra period, but graduate forward Lukas Sillinger turned the puck over at center ice to freshman forward Iiro Hakkarainen. He buried the overtime winner to give the Broncos (23-6-1, 16-3-1) a 4-3 win, spoiling ASU’s senior night.
“It’s going to sting tonight,” head coach Greg Powers said. “We felt like we had them on the ropes, but we just didn’t finish. It’s going to hurt when you’re that close to sweeping a team that good, but I’m proud of the guys. They competed and battled to take four of six points against the hottest team in the country.”
Eight seniors were celebrated before the game at Mullet Arena. All played various roles throughout their time at ASU. Forwards like Ryan Kirwan and Artem Shlaine joined the program this past year and immediately made a difference, but players like defenseman Ty Murchison and forwards Ethan Szmagaj and Benji Eckerle helped build Sun Devil Hockey from Oceanside Arena to where it is today.
“The new guys that are here for a year made such a huge impact on our program,” Powers expressed. “But we still have a ton of hockey in front of us. A road series and then playoffs, and then it’s a changing of the guard. It’s a bummer we couldn’t get this one for them tonight, but this isn’t going to be our last home game.”
While the special teams on both sides of the puck failed to score any points, their momentum shifts played a significant role in the weekend's outcome. Western Michigan came into the weekend with the fifth-best power play in the nation, but ASU held it scoreless in all four opportunities.
On the other side, the Broncos possess the second-best penalty kill in the country and proved it. The Sun Devils struggled to even get shots off against Western’s unit, and all three power plays came up empty after not getting a chance at all Friday night.
“The first unit just never got set up on the power play tonight,” Powers explained. “We won face-offs and just couldn’t hold it in. Their forecheck is really good, and it’s hard to enter the zone, but the second power play got some really good looks for us.”
Powers mentioned earlier in the week that the Sun Devils needed to use their quickness to their advantage against a prominent and physical team like Western Michigan, and the forecheck reflected that. Freshman forward Cullen Potter headed into the weekend, coming off a forgettable weekend against Minnesota Duluth but performed like it never happened.
Though he was held to an assist on Friday, he scored twice tonight and nearly a third time in overtime. Potter’s acceleration and puck handling had defenders in a whirlwind, as on his second goal, he put the brakes on and observed the defender flying by him before burying a shot in the top right corner over the goalie’s shoulder.
“He (Cullen) was forcing a ton of turnovers and was a force to be reckoned with all weekend,” sophomore forward Kyle Smolen recognized. “If we can get that level of buy-in from everyone and be able to create those turnovers, we’re going to have a lot of success.”
With the loss, the Sun Devils dropped to No. 16 in the PairWise, with Penn State jumping them after splitting the weekend with No. 2 Michigan State. ASU only had two regular-season games left against Omaha on the road next weekend, a must-win weekend to keep its postseason hopes alive. With the rankings neck-and-neck between the No. 11 and 16 teams, a loss would be detrimental.
ASU will have an additional and much-needed week of rest between Omaha and the first round of the NCHC tournament. The Sun Devils hope to host a quarterfinal at Mullet Arena. This will allow them to not only get healthier but also play like there’s no tomorrow against the Mavericks.
“We need to go to Omaha and win games,” Powers mentioned. “We have to focus on what’s in front of us, and we have a lot of hockey to play. Omaha’s a great team, and they had a bye this week. We’re excited to finish the regular season and get our bye week before playoffs, and I will look for our guys to really empty the tanks in a big way next week.”
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