The second-ranked Sun Devils cruised to their 30th straight win over the No.18 UA Wildcats by defeating them 5-1.
It was a special night for all eight seniors on the team since it was their last home game of their careers.
“It was great, I had a lot of friends and family out here,” defenseman Brian Parson said. “We played well. We buried these guys like we wanted to. It got a little nasty at the end but that’s what it’s all about.”
ASU Forward Kale Dolinski dominated in this weekend’s series scoring four goals in two games.
“Guys are putting pucks on net, I didn’t really do much,” Dolinski said. “I was struggling a few games ago, but I’m feeling good now. We have to step up for our captain [Colin Hekle] because he’s a huge leader and we have to fill his place.”
Once again, the Wildcats struck first as forward Andrew Murmes got a power play goal at 12:33. His shot trickled past ASU goaltender Joe D’Elia and crossed the line. The Sun Devils responded three minutes later, however, as forward Kyle Bowen stole the puck in UA’s defensive zone and sent it home. Then with 1:13 left to play in the first period forward Brian McGinty notched another goal for the Sun Devils. He batted down a Dolinski shot in the crease and then poked it in for the goal.
Dolinski then added a goal of his own to start the second period. Forward Danny McAuliffe fired off a shot into traffic and Dolinski was able to put his stick on it for the goal at 17:22. With 2:21 left in the period forward Faiz Khan lit up UA goaltender Robert Schultz as he received a pass from forward Dan Styrna flicked the puck in for a goal. This gave the Sun Devils a 4-1 lead going into the third period.
In the third, Dolinski struck at 3:38 as he went top shelf off of a pass from McAuliffe. This secured the Sun Devils’ 5-1 victory.
“It was a good solid clean win. We played a good hockey game: clean, mistake free and disciplined,” head coach Greg Powers said.
Next up the Sun Devils will travel take on Williston State on Feb 14.
