Sun Devils Find Stride Again in Victory Over Lindenwood

(Photo Courtesy – Samantha Maxwell)

Arizona State Men’s Hockey (14-18-0) got back on track in emphatic fashion at home on Friday night, making history in multiple statistical categories in an 8-2 thumping of Lindenwood (7-18-0).

53 shots on target and eight goals scored both tie single-game highs in ASU’s seven-year history as a Division I program. A six-goal win is also the team’s largest margin of victory during that span.

In total, 10 different Sun Devils made their way onto the scoresheet in ASU’s most dominant performance of the season.

“I thought the powerplay was really good, the energy was there,” head coach Greg Powers said. “The week off really served us well. The guys were fresh tonight and they were skating like they were fresh. That was good to see.”

The Sun Devils had a hop in their step from the get-go, in part due to the return of junior defenseman Tim Lovell. Lovell, an offensively-gifted defenseman who possess exceptional speed and skating, missed the previous eight games due to a scary injury sustained on Jan. 7 against Air Force.

“Definately a really offensive-minded player,” junior forward Ty Jackson said. “He’s really good at opening space, moving the puck, moving his feet. So I think he helps a lot with the offensive (…) he’s definitely one of our top defenseman and we’re really happy to have him back.”

Ty and his twin brother Dylan led the way offensively with four points on the evening, while their linemate, junior Lukas Sillinger, notched two goals and an assist. The newly-dubbed “Canadian Line” (all three forwards hail from north of the border) was finally rewarded for consistently generating chances over the last handful of games.

Sillinger opened the scoring just 4:38 into the game when he tracked down a loose puck in front of the net and made no mistake on his backhand. After junior forward Ryan O’Reilly lit the lamp, Dylan Jackson put home a goal on the man-advantage to extend ASU’s lead to 3-0.

Jackson’s PPG was the first of two for the Sun Devils on Friday, and ASU has now scored four in its last three games. This is largely due to defenseman simply throwing pucks on net more, but it also helps that the Sun Devils had Lovell, one of their main powerplay quarterbacks, back on the ice.

“Timmy back on, it was huge,” Powers said. “[Kuomontzis] has been great for us in the back and we’ve kept him back there. Having those two guys out there gives us so much offense from the back end (…) and then it gets contagious.”

The emphasis on generating more shots proved contagious for ASU’s entire lineup. Senior forward Robert Mastrosimone beat Lindenwood sophomore netminder with under two minutes elapsed in the second, which opened the floodgates for the Sun Devils.

After Sillinger followed up Mastrosimone’s goal with his second of the night just 32 ticks later, the Lions got onto the board courtesy of sophomore forward Caige Sterzer. Despite not earning his sixth shutout of the season, sophomore goaltender TJ Semptimphelter was extremely reliable in net, stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced.

The barrage of goals continued as freshman forward Ryan Alexander, sophomore forward Ty Murchison scored before the second intermission. While Sterzer cashed in again during the third, Dylan Jackson responded with his second of the game to punctuate his team’s offensive outburst.

There’s no doubt ASU played a near-perfect game, but Powers feels his group needs to continue to stick to the basics in order to pull off a sweep of the Lions.

“Just continue to manage pucks and play the right way,” Powers said. “Not giving them many opportunities, not letting them get out in transition because that’s what they want to do. Generally, when you play the right way, you get rewarded. Tonight, our guys did.”