No. 11 Arizona State jumped out to a 1-0 lead against No. 19 Colorado College four minutes into the first period and dominated the Tigers in the opening 10 minutes. ASU was a foot away from scoring its second goal midway through the first, but senior forward Artem Shlaine missed a wide-open net, and the game stayed at a one-goal advantage for the Sun Devils.
ASU (14-9-1, 9-5 NCHC) led 4-1 in the third period but let in four straight goals and five total in the third as Shlaine’s missed shot turned out to be the difference in a 5-4 game. Colorado College (12-11-1, 6-7-1 NCHC) stormed back to split the series with ASU, and that loss keeps the Sun Devils in second place in the NCHC after No. 3 Western Michigan beat Miami 2-0 to take the lead in the conference.
“Credit to them for not going away,” head coach Greg Powers said. “They played a really hard period after going down 4-1. You just have to get through a couple of shifts after that, and the game is over. They were desperate to get their season back on track, and they played like it in the third period and won it.”
While Arizona State had a 2-0 lead after the second period, the Tigers looked like the better with several Grade-A chances at the net. While they couldn’t capitalize on them in the second, the Tigers overpowered ASU’s defense and junior goaltender Gibson Homer. Colorado College finished with 41 shots on goal, the most allowed this season by Arizona State.
The barrage of shots was simply too much for Homer, but the Tigers kept their foot on the gas pedal and scored quickly and effectively. The Sun Devils answered each of the first two goals with one of their own, but the pressure overwhelmed them, and their defense broke down several times.
“We looked like a team that took winning for granted,” Powers voiced. “It’s a great lesson because it’s hard to win in this league and in college hockey. You go up 4-1, and you think it’s going to be easy, but they didn’t go away and found a way to claw back into it.”
ASU came into the game 45th out of 50 teams in faceoff win percentage (48.3%) and lost the faceoff battle 17-38 with a 30.9% faceoff win rate. The Sun Devils' physicality in the circle has become a major problem, as they miss out on a plethora of offensive zone faceoffs and have to stay in their own zone longer when they lose defensive faceoffs.
All four of Arizona State’s goals came from two players, senior forward Ryan Kirwan and junior forward Charlie Schoen. Kirwan scored or assisted on every goal for a four-point night, and Schoen scored two goals in the third period to answer Colorado College’s goals. Schoen has battled injuries throughout the year and has appeared in just 10 games so far, but his tenth was his best by far.
“It feels good just to get the injuries out of the way,” Schoen commented. “I feel like I’ve been trying my best to stay focussed on the process, and eventually, the production will come. I’m lucky to have great linemates that are helping keep the mental side of it better for me, so it’s great to be able to play free and with some confidence.”
Colorado College went 0-for-4 on the power play, all of them coming in the second period. Homer was tested tremendously in the second, making 16 saves in the period and keeping the Tigers scoreless. His four-game win streak comes to an end with the loss, and Powers will have a decision on who to start next Friday at Miami.
“Gibby made some big saves to keep us in it,” Powers expressed. “The penalties were just too much. Last night, we took too many men on a bad change, and tonight, on the kill. It’s elementary stuff you can’t do if you’re going to get sweeps in this league. The penalties gave them all the momentum they needed.”
The Sun Devils will travel to Miami for their lone series with the Redhawks. ASU already has two road sweeps on the year but is heading into the week with a stinging loss. Still, the Sun Devils are 11-2 in their last 13 games and are one of the hottest teams in the country. They were outplayed in the final 30 minutes of the game, and it eventually came back to bite them.
“I think we just sat on our toes for a bit,” Kirwan admitted. “We’re hopefully going to be in that situation of being up a couple of goals a lot, so we just have to play sound defense and play a full 60 minutes. Winning in this league is hard, and we have to commit to a full game.”
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