(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)
TEMPE — Four skaters, on the goal line, in their last game at Mullet Arena, celebrating Senior Night with their families. While there were sentimental moments, there was more on the line than just the seniors in Arizona State’s game against Omaha on Saturday.
After ASU’s Friday loss to the Mavericks, it sat on the wrong side of the cut line from the NCHC playoffs in last place, two points behind eighth-place Omaha, with last place being the sole team left out of the conference tournament. With a loss, the Sun Devils would put themselves in a five-point hole that could be too deep to dig out of, putting them in the most important game of their entire season.
With its back against the ropes, in a bout that might have determined who gets the last NCHC tournament spot, ASU (14-19-1, 7-14-1 NCHC) answered the bell when the lights were the brightest, clobbering the Mavericks (11-21-0, 7-15-0 NCHC) by a score of 6-3, snapping its five-game losing streak.
“I am obviously really happy for our seniors that they got to do this, but happy for our team,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “It has been a long month for those kids. They have been through hell and back during this month, and it’s a big win for them.”
The win puts ASU back inside the cut line for the NCHC tournament by one point, keeping its season hopes alive ahead of a tough road series against No. 9 Denver. A loss on Saturday meant that the Sun Devils would have needed a sweep against the Pioneers, but now, they just have to match Omaha’s performance next week against No. 20 Miami.
The Maroon and Gold came into the season ranked 14th in the country, fighting for a conference playoff spot was not in the season game plan for Powers and his squad, but a scrappy win on Senior Night could mark a shift if ASU ends up making a Cinderella run to an NCHC title.
“We are back on the inside,” Powers said. “So that is the silver lining. We have got our work cut out for us. We know how good Denver is . . . teams like them take pride in ending a team’s seasons . . . That is why they have been so good; they take pride in doing it. So we have to fight like hell to not let them end ours.”
The Sun Devils’ emphatic victory was sparked by a gutsy performance in the late rounds of the third period, as they came through when it mattered the most — a notion that the ASU faithful probably are not used to hearing this season.
The Maroon and Gold have consistently struggled in the final frame, going 3-16-1 when trailing or tied entering the third period. That crisis entered just six minutes into the third period when Omaha freshman Jeremy Loranger leveled the game at three on a shot from below the goal line.
Even after taking what would have been a devastating blow in other games this season, the Sun Devils were not out for the count, scoring three unanswered goals to conclude the game. The resilient final 20 minutes spearheaded ASU’s first win in the month of February.
“It was a really impressive third [period],” Powers said. “I thought it was probably our best third of the year. They got a really lucky bounce out of the corner, and it could have been the mindset of, oh, here we go again, but our guys did the exact opposite.”
That late charge was led by the players being celebrated that very same night — the seniors. Goalie Connor Hasley and forwards Tucker Ness, Cruz Lucius, and Bennett Schimek all put on a show in their final game at Mullet Arena.
Lucius had what was likely his best night of the season, with a goal and four assists, in a five-point night full of highlights. His performance moves him into second in the NCAA points race with 45 this season.
“I think just super emotional before the game, after the game, and even during,” Lucius said. “It was great to get a win, we needed it.”
Schimek also tallied a goal and an assist, reaching 42 points on the year, the seventh most in the NCAA. The night also marked Schimek’s 13th multi-point game of the season.
“It was awesome,” Schimek said. “It was obviously a special night, and I am glad we came out on top and kind of put on a show there.”
Although the Sun Devils were ultimately able to come away with the win, they were on the heels in the middle of the game due to a plethora of penalties slowing the roll of their punches. They committed four penalties in the second period, making for five total on the night.
ASU’s 77.34% kill rate ranks inside the bottom 20 in the entire country and struggled on Friday, giving up two goals on four Omaha power plays. The penalty kill came up big situationally on Saturday, killing a five-on-three late in the period to hold on to their lead heading into the intermission, allowing it to swing back after being on the back foot.
“With some of the plays those guys made,” Powers said. “And the grit that it took to get this win tonight, because that team was obviously trying to put us away. Our guys prevailed, and they showed that they can get through adversity.”
Even though the regular season is winding to a close, ASU still has one more heavyweight opponent to face one mile above sea level. The Pioneers are one of the perennial powerhouses of college hockey, but sweeping them on the road would not be uncharted territory for the Maroon and Gold.
The Sun Devils took both games on the road in their series against then-No.1, Denver last season. Lucius and Schimek combined for six points between the two games, as ASU has players who know how to win in the same environment it will be in this weekend. In its last three series against the Pioneers, ASU has gotten the better of one of the country’s best, boasting a 4-2 record.
“We can draw on the fact that we had success up there last year,” Powers said. “It is a much different team for us and a much different team for them, but our program has that success up there.”
