No. 12 Arizona State held a 4-3 lead with under three minutes left regulation, but No. 3 Western Michigan was living in ASU’s zone and pulled its goalie with 2:23 left and a faceoff in the offensive zone. The Broncos had dominated the faceoff circle up to this point, but sophomore forward Kyle Smolen was determined to change that.
Smolen won the faceoff and backhanded the puck past Western Michigan and toward the empty net as it trickled down the ice seemingly in slow motion. Once the puck crossed the goal line into the empty net, Mullet Arena erupted into cheers as Smolen’s goal was the nail in the coffin for ASU’s (18-11-2, 13-7-1 NCHC) 5-3 win over Western Michigan (22-6-1-1, 15-3-1), the first time the Broncos dropped a conference game in regulation.
“They (Western Michigan) don’t have a guy in the middle in their faceoff structure,” Smolen said. “I lost the first faceoff before that, so I needed to change it up. I saw the middle of the ice was open, and I punted it to see what happened, and it took a nice bounce and a good roll.”
The Sun Devils inch closer to the lead in the NCHC, now at 43 points to Western Michigan’s 45. Although ASU could take the lead with a win tomorrow night, the Broncos still have an extra weekend of NCHC hockey, only playing in 19 conference games thus far. Still, the Sun Devils stay at No. 15 in the PairWise rankings and are on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble, with the top 14 teams making the postseason.
“We still gained a lot of ground,” head coach Greg Powers voiced. “You may not see an immediate jump, but it’s going to help us when it all comes down to the end of when that matters. The margin between us and No. 11 right now is minuscule, so with a win tomorrow, you’ll see some movement.”
The atmosphere was thick and full of anticipation from the puck drop to the final buzzer, but Western Michigan never led after ASU took an early 2-0 lead after the first period. Graduate goaltender Cameron Rowe started in net for the Broncos but let in an uncharacteristic goal off a wobbly shot from senior forward Ryan Kirwan in the first that allowed the Sun Devils to gain a two-goal lead.
Kirwan now leads the NCHC with 20 goals, as he’s continuously found ways to put the puck in the back of the net throughout the season.
On ASU’s side, senior Luke Pavicich was in the crease and stood on his head throughout the game to hold Western Michigan to three goals on 42 shot attempts, the most he’s faced all year. The shot total could easily be higher, with the Broncos attempting 91 shots, but Pavicich’s teammates stood tall in front of him and blocked a jaw-dropping 33 shots.
Pavicich was tested early and often throughout the game as the Sun Devils struggled to exit their own zone immensely. While he was able to make astounding saves all night long, giving that many Grade-A chances to a top-5 team in the country will result in a goal eventually.
“I didn’t love how we managed pucks tonight,” Powers mentioned. “We knew they’d come hard on the forecheck, but we have to be better going back for pucks and making harder plays tomorrow if we’re going to get another win.”
Junior forward Charlie Schoen did not dress for the third consecutive game after sitting out the entire weekend against Minnesota Duluth. Going from the first line to a healthy scratch is certainly out of the ordinary, but the Sun Devils were able to get it done and match the physicality against one of the bigger teams in college hockey.
Every Sun Devil that was on the ice answered the bell when it came to using their speed to their advantage, but they didn’t shy away from the contact either. All four lines came off the bench with a head of steam, and junior forward Tucker Ness earned his time on the fourth line after being a healthy scratch for the last month, laying hit after hit on the Broncos.
“We matched their physicality in every way,” Powers noted. “I think a big reason for that was the fourth line and how it was constructed. They bought into what they needed to do, but Cullen Potter had what I think was his best game out there. He was dominant, he drove every play and played the right way; he looked like a veteran tonight.”
ASU earned a hard-fought win, but there’s still another game to play against one of the best teams in the country tomorrow night. While Arizona State has mountains of momentum going into game two, the Broncos will certainly come out with a vengeance on their minds after suffering their first regulation loss in conference play.
The biggest thing for the Sun Devils is to play with arguably even more fire than they played with tonight. They were able to match the physicality tonight, but all the hits and shots blocked take a toll on a player. If ASU looks even half a step slower tomorrow night, Western Michigan will be all over it.
“They’re a hell of a team, and we learned that the hard way tonight,” Powers added. “We just said in the locker room the job is only halfway done. We want to get two this weekend to get back in first place tomorrow and see what happens the rest of the way.”
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