ASU Men’s Hockey Drops Fairbanks Opener

(Photo Courtesy – Samantha Maxwell)

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State (13-17) dropped its first of four games against Alaska Fairbanks (13-9-2) 2-1 on Friday, the first time the Sun Devils have played on the road since Dec. 10. Since the Winter Break, they are now 4-7 as they look to finishing above .500 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Friday’s loss was simply the result of bad puck luck, as the Fairbanks blocked 30 of ASU’s 32 shots on goal. Meanwhile, Fairbanks only had 13 of its 24 shots on goal blocked by ASU. As a whole, the Sun Devils outshot the Nanooks 77-52 through the entire game.

The penalty kill unit remained strong for the Sun Devils, not allowing a single power play goal through four Fairbanks power plays. Junior forward Lukas Sillinger extended his point-scoring streak to four games, scoring their only goal of the night on a power play just over seven minutes into the third period. It was also the team’s first power play goal since Jan. 20 against RIT.

Of Sillinger’s eight total shot attempts, six were on goal. Similarly, senior forward Robert Mastrosimone hit the goal on five of his 10 total shots.

Fairbanks got on the scoreboard just over halfway through the first period, scoring on a goal from sophomore forward Payton Matsui. Arizona State held Fairbanks scoreless for the next 30 minutes when sophomore Brayden Nicholetts extended the lead 2-0.

With a score of 2-1 entering the final two minutes of regulation, the Sun Devils pulled sophomore goalie TJ Semptimphelter for a 6-on-5 advantage but were almost immediately called for too many men on the ice, forcing them to bring back Semptimphelter. They pulled Semptimphelter again in the final minute for an even strength 5-on-5, giving the Sun Devils several opportunities to force an overtime period, but Ty Murchison was assessed a cross checking penalty with 18 seconds remaining.

It proved to not be enough for the Sun Devils, who have not defeated Fairbanks since Nov. 9, 2019. The two teams will meet again on Saturday before a two-game series in Tempe on Feb. 24-25. Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m. MST.