(Photo: Kylee Meter/WCSN)
Arizona State’s depth was on display Sunday as five different skaters found the back of the net in a dominating 5-0 victory over Alaska Fairbanks, handing the Sun Devils two program-first accomplishments – a first-ever home sweep and 2-0 start — to begin their fourth Division I season.
ASU’s offense was explosive while junior goalie Joey Daccord recorded his second consecutive shutout to help the Sun Devils improve to 2-0 at Oceanside Ice Arena.
After his team powered past the Nanooks, outshooting their opponent 32-13 and gaining more ice time in the offensive zone, ASU coach Greg Powers praised the group’s balanced effort.
“It was a good team win,” he said. “We’re getting production from all the guys we need it from. I told these guys to go enjoy themselves. It’s a really good start to the season.”
The Sun Devils certainly enjoyed themselves throughout the game after jumping right out of the gates in a first period that saw them generate eight shots and dominate in the faceoff circle.
On the Sun Devils’ first power-play opportunity of the evening, sophomore forward Johnny Walker fired a wrister toward the net that junior co-captain Tyler Busch deflected home near the back post to give ASU a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.
“Johnny made a nice look there,” Busch said. “There was a little bit of scramble off the start of the powerplay, but we did a good job at just controlling it. We’ve seen it work a couple times at practice, and it was really nice to get that one backdoor.”
Just 43 seconds later, the Sun Devils struck again. This time, sophomore defenseman Jacob Wilson was the beneficiary of a tremendous feed from freshman forward Demetrios Koumontzis. Wilson wasted no time and, with a bit of luck, snapped a shot in off the right goal post to extend the Sun Devils’ lead to 2-0.
After some nifty stickhandling around the crease, freshman forward PJ Marrocco collected his first goal in maroon and gold and gave the Sun Devils a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the first period. Powers was thrilled to see the rookies settling in through the first few shifts of the night, describing their play with the leadership core as “a breath of fresh air.”
“What we have now is really good established natural leadership,” Powers said. “And more importantly, we have kids that desperately want to wear that jersey and be a part of our program. The chemistry and culture right now are where we work so hard to get it to, and we just have to keep moving the rock forward.”
The Sun Devils chased Alaska Fairbanks’ starting netminder, Anton Martinsson, after he gave up the three goals on eight shots. At the start of the second period, the Nanooks swapped in backup Gustavs Grigals for the remainder of the game.
The Sun Devils sustained pressure in the offensive zone and pummeled Grigals with a barrage shots, including a huge stop on freshman forward Austin Lemieux, who came within inches of securing his first collegiate hockey goal. However, Grigals could not stop the bleeding in the third period as ASU tacked on two more goals.
Junior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk impressed all night, recording one assist, four shots on goal, and one highlight reel moment to keep in the back of his mind.
The co-captain stole the puck from a UAF forward at the blue line, side-stepped a defender, and fired a shot through five-hole, the most dazzling of ASU’s five tallies on the night.
Walker put the cherry on top moments later, after he received a pass in the slot from freshman forward Jordan Sandhu and buried his second goal of the season. Walker extended his goal streak to seven-straight games dating back to his freshman campaign, but that’s a stretch he’s not focusing each night on the ice.
“It’s not really something you think about,” Walker said. “You go in every night and we have to compete and play the right way. I probably won’t get an easier one than that all year, but it’s always good to score.”
While the offense carried the load, Daccord held his ground in goal and earned his second shutout of the season, stopping all 13 shots that came his way.
The series sweep comes at an important early juncture in Sun Devils’ season, with No. 3 Ohio State coming to Tempe next Friday and Saturday.
“They’re going to be incredibly talented and we know that,” Powers said. “They return essentially everybody from a Frozen Four team. They’re going to be hungry to get back there and try to get over the hump and win a national championship. But our guys are confident.”
