(Photo Courtesy – Hailey Rogalski)
Arizona State Men’s Hockey earned its first sweep of the season Saturday evening, as they defeated Colorado College 6-1 after a 5-3 win on Friday, but it was a different kind of energy at Mullett Arena on Saturday night. Freshmen forwards Charlie Schoen and Teddy Lagerback earned their first goals of their respective collegiate careers, while junior forward Ty Jackson earned his first goal as a Sun Devil since transferring to ASU from Northeastern this summer.
“Obviously, it’s memorable because it’s the first sweep in this building, and it was an emphatic one,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said after the game. “We did many things well in so many facets. Special teams was tremendous tonight, goaltending was tremendous, [and] we got some freshmen on the board that played really well in some big moments for us.”
“It was unbelievable,” junior defenseman Tim Lovell said. “We couldn’t have done it without the student section we have. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere and a great group of people who started this whole thing for us, so we couldn’t be happier.”
The student section has sold out all four games at Mullett Arena so far, as early as Tuesday morning for a Friday evening game, a phenomenon that doesn’t happen with any other sport on-campus. The team has certainly taken note of this and as a result, perform a unique celebration for the student section after every home win. This time, it was Lovell being pushed into the net surrounded by his teammates followed by celebrating with the students on the other side of the glass.
https://twitter.com/ARSports20/status/1584064918260576256?s=20&t=TAMlIGw5ELAr7y6LYNkPIw
“Now, every time we get a win, we do something pretty funny and special for the students because they came to watch and they don’t have to do that,” Lovell said. “There’s so many things to do in Tempe, and it’s great to have support behind us as we play these opponents.”
Eleven different players earned points in what Powers described as a “great team win.” The Sun Devils wasted little time getting on the scoreboard Saturday evening, with senior forward Robert Mastrosimone’s 5-on-3 power play goal, assisted by Lovell and sophomore forward Josh Doan. The power play unit was much stronger this weekend, where it scored three times on seven total attempts, compared with zero power play goals last weekend against Colgate. A second power play goal on Saturday came from Lovell’s first goal of the season with just under three minutes to go in the third period, a slapshot from just in front of the blue line followed by a “stick slam” celebration at center ice.
https://twitter.com/SunDevilHockey/status/1584035487496343552?s=20&t=oBXtEeHUKb49k-yGcyQClQ
“It was a good weight off my shoulders, and it was pretty special. So I thought about doing that,” Lovell said of the celebration.
The biggest activity of the night occurred with just four seconds to go in the first period, where junior forwards Dylan and Ty Jackson, and freshman forward Ryan Alexander were involved in a heated fight right in front of the Tigers’ goal after a whistle. After a replay review that lasted several minutes, Dylan Jackson and the Sun Devils were assessed a five-minute major penalty for spearing. Several offsetting minor penalties were also distributed to both teams. In spite of being forced to play the first quarter of the second period shorthanded, ASU still held the Tigers scoreless until the third minute of the third period, when senior forward Noah Prokop earned his first goal of the season.
“The kill was tremendous,” Powers said. “We’re still trying to find the spear. We looked, and I couldn’t find it. To come out of that scrum, down [a man] for five minutes, was insane. I didn’t agree with it, but we got through it, our guys picked Dylan up, [and] I’m proud of them.”
Three Sun Devils stood out on Saturday. Freshman Teddy Lagerback netted the first goal of his collegiate career in the second period after a big breakaway up the middle that was unsuccessful, but with some help from his teammate Ryan Alexander, Lagerback was able to put it in the net a few seconds later.
https://twitter.com/SunDevilHockey/status/1584019279820644352?s=20&t=oBXtEeHUKb49k-yGcyQClQ
“It was fun,” Lagerback said. “I was pretty pissed about the breakaway, kind of a brutal move, but [I] stuck with it, put it in the back of the net, so it felt good.”
Later in the period, Ty Jackson netted his first as a Sun Devil, a clean shot right in front of an empty net, left by the Tigers’ freshman goalie Kaidan Mbereko. Lagerback wasn’t the only freshman who scored his first goal on Saturday. Early in the third period, forward Charlie Schoen scored on a wrist shot from the top right for the first goal of his young collegiate career.
https://twitter.com/SunDevilHockey/status/1584023236613787650?s=20&t=oBXtEeHUKb49k-yGcyQClQ
https://twitter.com/SunDevilHockey/status/1584029242286710784?s=20&t=oBXtEeHUKb49k-yGcyQClQ
Box scores like the one on Saturday have brought out the depth of ASU’s roster. It was a slow start for the Sun Devils, as they started the season 1-3 in Minnesota, but they’ve found their groove since, with a 2-0 win against Colgate on Oct. 14, and a 5-3 and 6-1 sweep over Colorado College this weekend.
“There’s 13 new kids on this team, so it takes time to find some chemistry, start to gel, and get the confidence,” Powers said. “It doesn’t matter who we throw out [on the ice,] there’s really no lines on this team. We’re dangerous. We’re very dangerous.”
“It took a little bit to get going, and I think that’s normal for any team,” Lovell said. “If things aren’t going your way, you just have to keep going at it. Especially with Coach Powers, [and assistant coaches] Alex Hicks and Mike Field, it’s not hard to succeed when you have those guys backing you up.”
From here, the Devils will take a special trip to Las Vegas, where they will play a one-off game against No. 7 North Dakota, who defeated No. 1 Minnesota 5-4 in overtime on Saturday. ASU’s matchup with North Dakota is part of the annual U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game and will take place on Oct. 29 at 7:07 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, home of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Hockey will return to Mullett Arena on Nov. 11 for the first of two series against Alaska Anchorage.
