(Photo Courtesy – Samantha Maxwell)
Almost one year ago to date, Alaska – Fairbanks and Arizona State battled to a 1-1 tie in the Last Frontier. This result didn’t mean much to a Nanooks team that was closing out a 14-18-2 season. However, for the Sun Devils, the overtime stalemate capped off a brutal four-game stretch against UAF that virtually closed the door on an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Entering last February with a 15-14 record, it was imperative that the Sun Devils took at least two of the four games to keep their postseason hopes alive. But almost a month later, after ASU went 0-3-1 against the Nanooks, the prospect of playing hockey into late March was long gone.
When the two teams met this season, it was UAF (20-10-2) that was looking to keep its NCAA Tournament resumé intact, giving the Sun Devils four chances to play spoiler and add fuel to an already fiery rivalry between the two programs.
But in all four games, the Nanooks showed why they belong in the big dance, and secured a season sweep of ASU (15-20-0) with a 4-2 victory at Mullett Arena.
The Sun Devils had the odds stacked against them before the game, as senior forward Robert Mastrosimone – the team’s leading scorer – and sophomore defenseman Ty Murchison were out of the lineup due to injury after playing in last night’s game. These were only the latest additions to ASU’s lengthy injured list, and head coach Greg Powers was left with no choice but to roll with 10 forwards and 6 defensemen.
“You hate to stand up and make excuses, but if you don’t see what we’re fighting injury-wise, you’re blind,” Powers said. “I was proud of the guys tonight, the guys that were able to play, I thought they gave everything they had (…) This is a team that has been fighting massive injury issues for the last 20 games, and now it’s at a point where it’s borderline stupid. But we’re going to keep fighting.”
It appears the Sun Devils will have only 10 forwards available (Powers said freshman forward Ryan Robinson will not play this season) for their remaining four games, forcing Powers to think outside the box on how to field a full squad.
“It’s been 20 games of grueling adversity, and this is the result,” Powers said. “I don’t know who we’re going to get back, if anybody, I may call up a kid from the club team if I have to… I really might, I might have to. I can do it, I just have to pass some stuff (…) I’ve already looked into it, so I would look for that because we’re probably going to need a body.”
Despite inconsistent results throughout the season, the Sun Devils’ man advantage stepped up in a big way on Saturday. After a goal from graduate forward Demetrios Kuomontzis got things started in the first, sophomore captain Josh Doan roofed a one-timer up on the powerplay just 1:01 into the middle frame to go up 2-0. Doan’s strike extended his personal point streak to five games and marked the fifth time this season that ASU has scored multiple PPGs in a contest.
On the flip side, the Sun Devils’ penalty kill – ranked 4th in the nation coming into Saturday’s game – was once again stellar, preventing the Nanooks from converting despite having ample opportunity. UAF had seven opportunities, the best being a five-minute major assessed to junior defenseman Tim Lovell in the third, but couldn’t convert, as the ASU’s PK killed all 25 penalty minutes awarded to the home team.
With only 16 skaters suiting up for the Sun Devils, UAF generating a high volume of scoring chances was to be expected, and that’s exactly what happened – the Nanooks ended the game with a 39-29 shots advantage. However, often having tired legs in front of him didn’t deter goaltender TJ Semptimphelter from the gate. The sophomore was locked in early, stopping 15 first-period shots and staving off multiple high-quality Nanooks scoring chances.
But the second period proved a different story for ASU’s netminder. Semptimphelter’s first blemish came when UAF junior defenseman Garrett Pyke banked a shot off of his pads that found the back of the net. Minutes later, seamless puck movement from the Nanooks resulted in an easy tap-in for sophomore forward Chase Dubois.
“First period, [Semptimphelter] was good, I thought he needed to be better in the second,” Powers said. “I don’t like either of the two [Alaska] goals, I felt like we should’ve gone in [to the third period] with a 2-0 lead, and I think he would tell you he wants those two back.”
With the score deadlocked at two in the third, the momentum seemed even until 7:25 into the frame, when Lovell took a five-minute major for cross-checking and a game misconduct after he got tangled up with UAF sophomore forward Payton Matsui. Just four seconds after the Sun Devils killed off the major, the puck found sophomore forward Simon Falk’s stick with an open net in front of him, a look that Semptimphelter had little chance to stop.
Good passing once again came to bite the Sun Devils, as Falk was almost able to replicate his go-ahead goal to put UAF up a pair with under three minutes to play. From that point on, the Nanooks did what they do best – shut down the opposition. And they did just that, despite a late push from ASU.
Following the game, senior forward Jacob Semik spoke on how the injury-ridden Sun Devils are keeping their morale up despite the tough circumstances, as there are still four games remaining on the schedule.
“You just try your best to motivate the guys,” Semik said. “Obviously we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves at this point, it’s for the program. So I think it’s just motivating guys, especially guys who are just starting, because they’re going to be here longer than we will. So it’s important to keep them motivated so they’re ready for the future as well.”
