(Photo: Joey Plishka/WCSN)
Things have not particularly looked good for Arizona State Men’s Hockey so far in 2021-22, and on Saturday, things got ugly.
ASU dropped the final game of its season series with Denver by a score of 7-1. In the four games the Sun Devils played against Denver this season, they were outscored 25-9.
ASU started the game the same way it ended Friday night’s contest. Within the first four minutes of the first period, Denver already found itself up 1-0.
The Sun Devils played a very physical game on defense but were unable to cover cross-crease passes throughout the night, which caught up with them on the first goal they allowed. ASU struggled to get the puck out of their defensive zone throughout the entire first period.
The physical lay hurt the Sun Devils throughout the game. A boarding call on senior defenseman Tim Theocharidis led to another Denver goal less than 30 seconds after the penalty was issued, making it a 2-0 game at the end of the first period.
Despite being down 2-0, ASU head coach Greg Powers didn’t see much his team could change.
“Nothing about the start was bad,” Powers said. “I thought they were more opportunistic.”
ASU came out of the first intermission playing a little better. It controlled the puck more on the offensive end and outshot Denver in the period 16-9. But the better play did not lead to any goals for the Sun Devils.
Despite keeping up more in the second period, sophomore goaltender Cole Brady did give up another goal to Denver senior forward Brett Stapely. The goal was Stapely’s fourth of the series, as he scored a hat trick on Friday night.
“They had one scoring chance in the second and they scored,” Powers said. “Everything was going in. When everything goes in, it is what it is.”
ASU continued its struggles on the defensive side of the ice into the third period. The Pioneers quickly went out and scored their fourth goal of the night.
Frustrations for the Sun Devils started to boil over. Senior forward Demetrious Koumontzis took a boarding penalty, which led to another Pioneers goal and a deficit of 5-0 for ASU.
ASU stopped the bleeding for a while by scoring their first goal of the game, as sophomore forward Michael Mancinelli got his first of the season with a deflection in front of the net.
However, the good times did not continue for the Sun Devils.
With six minutes left in the game, fireworks went off. Denver was bringing the puck up the ice when ASU freshman defenseman Ty Murchison landed a big hit on a Denver forward. This hit led to a line brawl that involved senior defenseman Jacob Wilson and freshman forward Josh Doan.
The entire game led up to this moment. Murchison was thrown in the box earlier in the game for charging, which resulted in expletives being thrown between the two benches.
Both Wilson and Murchison were disqualified from the game. Wilson was thrown out for fighting and Murchison was guilty of a hit to the head. Both penalties will result in one-game suspensions that will keep Wilson and Murchison out in ASU’s next game against Clarkson.
“I honestly thought it was a clean hit,” Powers said. “I don’t why it got a penalty let alone head contact. I thought he got him low with his hip. It seems like now in college hockey, you are not allowed to hit anybody.”
The aftermath of the scrum resulted in a five-minute 4-on-3 for the last five minutes of the game. Denver was able to tack on two more goals to push the game’s score to 7-1.
ASU will look to bounce back next weekend after getting swept by the Pioneers. The Sun Devils will take on Clarkson on Friday and Saturday in a two-game series at Oceanside.
