ASU Men’s Hockey: Sun Devils fall in upset to Alaska Fairbanks 5-3

(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)

For the first time in over a month, Arizona State Men’s Hockey returned to Oceanside Ice Arena where it served as hosts to Alaska Fairbanks on Friday night in the first of four consecutive games against the Nanooks.

In a game that was defined by defensive mistakes by the Sun Devils (15-15), they fell to Alaska Fairbanks (8-16-1) 5-3.

Entering Friday night’s game, the Sun Devils were an impressive 11-4 at home in 2021-22, knocking off powerhouses like No. 20 Bemidji State, No. 18 Clarkson, and No. 9 Cornell at Oceanside.

It might have been fair to ask whether ASU underestimated the seven-win Nanooks coming into the game. ASU Head Coach Greg Powers didn’t think that was quite the case, but he wasn’t pleased with the way his team came out of the gate on Friday night.

“I don’t see how they could have [underestimated Alaska Fairbanks],” Powers said. “We told them all week, we laid it out pretty clearly what they’ve done, who’ve they played and how they’ve been competitive. I thought our [defense] came out with a little bit of a lack of urgency, going back for pucks, and making plays coming out of our zone, and it cost us.”

Although Powers wasn’t impressed with the start from his defense, it only gave up one goal in the entire first period, a goal which was scored on a penalty shot by Alaska Fairbanks freshman forward Brady Risk within the first five minutes of the game.

Risk was able to get the penalty shot after ASU senior defenseman Jacob Wilson was handed a throwing equipment penalty – a call that loudly erupted the Sun Devils’ bench in frustration.

“That penalty shot that was awarded to [Alaska Fairbanks] was literally the worst call I’ve seen made in college hockey ever,” Powers said. “It was pathetic, and that really put us on our heels a little bit… that was an inexcusable call.”

The Sun Devils were able to rebound in the second period, scoring two goals in a span of two minutes. The first came from senior forward Jordan Sandhu at the 10:16 mark, and the next came from sophomore forward Matthew Kopperud around the 12-minute mark, which ended up being his 17th goal of the season.

“Kopperud hammered it, and we were feeling good after that,” Powers said. “If you would have told me that (5-3) would have been the score after he scored the goal, I would have never believed it.”

The Nanooks were able to gain some momentum back from the Sun Devils after a missed penalty shot from Sandhu, and a power play goal on their end from freshman forward Harrison Israels, which tied the game at two to end the second period.

On paper, the third period was controlled by the Sun Devils, taking 22 shots compared to eight by the Nanooks. However, the Nanooks were able to score on three of those eight shots, which saw the game end at 5-3 after ASU added a garbage time goal to end scoring for the night.

“In the third they didn’t generate anything,” Powers said. “They didn’t have any possessions, they didn’t have any zone time at all. They had a couple scoring chances and scored on them. It’s just a couple of big mistakes by our (defense), and they capitalized.”

The Sun Devils have an opportunity to quickly get back on track, as they host Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday. But Friday’s loss likely puts a cap on ASU’s already slim NCAA Tournament odds, and gives the rest of the season perhaps a different meaning moving forward.