(Photo: Emma Gonzalez)
TEMPE — With just under two minutes of regulation remaining in a tie game between No. 14 Arizona State and No. 5 Penn State, junior forward Aiden Fink sat atop the blue line in the Nittany Lions’ offensive zone with the puck on his stick and a man advantage for Penn State. A feed to the far side to junior defenseman Mac Gadowsky set up a cross-ice pass that connected with freshman forward Gavin McKenna in the circle.
As the packed Inferno section saw where the puck was headed, boos rained down onto the ice. The perfect dish led to a McKenna one timer that sailed over the glove side shoulder of ASU senior goaltender Connor Hasley to take a 3-2 lead with time dwindling down.
The potential first overall draft pick in the 2026 NHL Draft quickly turned to the crowd, throwing his glove off in celebration, giving Sun Devil fans a “Forks Down” symbol.
Penn State (2-0) completed the opening series sweep against the No. 14 Arizona State Sun Devils (0-2) in Tempe with a 4-2 win on Saturday, with McKenna’s goal serving as the dagger. ASU had plenty of opportunities for offensive production throughout the night, but things did not go its way after a heartbreaking late third-period goal.
After the scoreboard hit all zeros, the Nittany Lions rushed to sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler, who was in front of the ASU student section. Before arriving at his goalie’s side, McKenna took his time to go along the glass and give it plenty of stick-taps.
The first star’s reaction was warranted, as Sun Devil fans showered him with boos each time he touched the puck through all 60 minutes. With 15:55 remaining in the third period, McKenna lost his cool and committed a cross-checking penalty, setting up a 4-on-4.
As soon as the referee’s arm went up, “overrated” chants from the Inferno echoed through Mullet Arena. Although this was one of many times McKenna heard Sun Devil fans’ displeasure, he made sure to silence them with the game-winner.
It came on the man-advantage after junior defenseman and alternate captain Anthony Dowd was called for an elbowing penalty with 2:47 left of the third period, a mental lapse from one of Powers’ veteran leaders.
“We played a really disciplined game,” head coach Greg Powers said. “But for [Dowd] to take that, in that position, it’s inexcusable. I just told him that in the room exactly.”
ASU had its chances to steal the game. The biggest opportunity came in a 2-2 game when the Sun Devils had a two-man advantage, but they only registered one shot on goal.
The 5-on-3 still looked dangerous through and through, as ASU held the puck in its offensive zone until the teams were back to even strength, getting 11 shots off between the two penalties. Alas, the Sun Devils did everything but score, as they ended the contest 0-6 on the power play while barely winning the shot battle 47 to 46.
ASU’s magic put on a show in the second period, when Kipkie launched a high clear behind his defensive net, setting up a three-on-one. Senior forward Benntt Schimek was on the left side with Potter and Lucius to support, as the three skated against Penn State sophomore defenseman Nick Fascia. Schimek did not need another assist, hanging onto the puck and ripping it into the basket for a 1-0 lead with 17:53 to go.
“We had two 3-on-1s last night, and we didn’t get a shot,” Powers said. “But, tonight, we executed. We were driving the net, getting traffic at the net, and [Reidler] was really good tonight. He had some really big saves.”
Over 10 minutes later, junior forward Sean McGurn and senior forward Cruz Lucius found themselves in a 2-on-3 heading into their offensive zone. McGurn stayed high, skating far-side, then backhanding it to Lucius in the slot. Lucius was able to get control of the puck and bury it for ASU insurance, displaying patience as he waited for Reidler to be out of position before backhanding it into an open net.
Lucius’ first of the year marked the fifth different goal scorer for the Sun Devils in the series, with all five goals coming in the second period.
Junior center Kyle Smolen said after Friday’s game that the team needed to be willing to go into the dirty areas to create offensive chances. ASU’s physicality came to life Saturday night, as Smolen’s words ignited the Sun Devils as they did the grunt work needed to generate longer offensive zone time, putting consistent pressure on Penn State for the first two periods. But once they stopped fighting for extra possessions as intensely, the Nittany Lions worked themselves back into the game.
“I feel like we [played in the dirty areas] for 40 minutes,” said Schimek. “The first two periods, I thought we played really well. We were getting to the dirty areas, we were getting pucks to the net, we were getting traffic, but then, in the third period, we just fell apart.”
For Powers, there is still a positive outlook from the sweep, even if the team feels it is not enough. He was able to see his team play in a real game environment, as his players will look to take lessons from ASU’s opening weekend and apply them throughout the season.
Although they won’t face another Frozen Four team until No. 4 Denver in late November, the Sun Devils will still be tested in their nonconference slate in the coming weeks.
“Obviously, the silver lining is that’s as good a team as you’re going to see all year,” Powers said. “They’re arguably the most talented team in the country…We had a lead on them going into the third both nights, and tonight, it felt like this is going to be our game…So we can take away that we can clearly play with anybody, but we’re beyond moral victories here.”
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