(Photo: Max Zepeda/WCSN)
Establishing a program at the collegiate level is difficult. It requires a strong administration, coaching staff and players, who want to play for the university. Finding the right combination of those factors is a difficult task, especially with the modern rules of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness.
The situation is where Arizona State Hockey has found itself. The program has spent only eight seasons at the Division I level, making strides every year.
The spotlight on the Sun Devils entered the 2022-23 season with expectations, due to their new arena and the talent on the roster. Head coach Greg Powers and his squad have captured impressive wins, including a 3-2 victory over then-No. 9 North Dakota.
The resume improved on Saturday night, as ASU (8-7-0) defeated the No. 2 ranked Minnesota Gophers (11-5-0) 6-5 in an overtime thriller.
“Yeah, that team is so good. … that’s as good as you’ll see in college hockey. They’re that good,” Powers said. “Another benchmark win for us. Huge to do it at home in front of our fans, they were incredible tonight. It was awesome.”
The high-scoring affair was highlighted by senior forward Robert Mastrosimone, who had two assists and the game-winning goal in overtime. Mastrosimone was able to get out in the open ice, leaving Gophers goaltender Justen Close as the only obstacle between Mastrosimone and the net. The 5-foot-11 forward put the puck on the top shelf, scoring the game-winning goal.
“It’s a team effort,” Mastrosimone said. “We scored five goals, nothing about me, it’s just a team effort, honestly. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Despite allowing five goals during the game, sophomore goaltender TJ Semptimphelter was a force in the net, saving 26 shots in over 63 minutes of action. Semptimphelter has a .918 save percentage on the season, ranking him 21st in the nation.
“It was a lot of fun. … I was excited to play in these games,” Semptimphelter said. “These are the games you get up for. Like all games, they’re important for us. It was a lot of fun tonight and the guys battled tonight.”
ASU competed against some of the best players and lines in the nation, adding another level of complexity to the win, especially after Friday night’s 3-2 loss.
“We needed it. We needed it bad,” Powers said. “It was a must-win. We just haven’t had a lot of puck luck. We’re right there from having 12 wins right now, and maybe even more. To get it the way we did tonight, where it didn’t feel in stretches it was going to happen because of how good that team is, was really good. I felt like we played better last night. I felt like we deserved to win the game last night. So, I really believed that this was a deserved split for our guys. They deserved to get out of this weekend with a win.”
The schedule for the Sun Devils will only increase in difficulty, as they’ll head to Colorado to take on No. 1 Denver in a two-game series. Defeating teams like North Dakota and Minnesota helps bolster a post-season resume. A post-season berth would be another benchmark for Powers and the program to check off the list.
“This is a win that will award us all year because they’re going to win a ton of games,” Powers said. “Every game they win it help us, and they’re going to win the majority of their games. This is a huge one for us, just to get back above .500.”
