21:36.
That was the amount of time Minnesota Men’s Hockey trailed Arizona State over two games this weekend. The Sun Devils held a lead over the No. 1 team in the country for a total of just over a full period through Sunday and Monday’s contest against the Golden Gophers.
ASU goes home from Minneapolis having lost both games against Minnesota, starting the second half of its schedule 0-2 and owning a 4-8-2 record on the year.
The amount of time ASU led during the series could easily be perceived as an empty statistic, but considering that ASU’s 21 minutes and 36 seconds of leading Minnesota (10-0-0) this weekend was the first time the Golden Gophers had trailed all season, the Sun Devils’ 6-4 loss Monday night – in which they led 3-2 and came back from a two-goal deficit in the second period – inspires more than it may sting.
“We can just get better from it,” head coach Greg Powers said. “If [our guys] can’t gain confidence off of putting a period together like that against a team that good, then I don’t know what to tell you. I know we will. That’s the character we have and what we have in that room. We’ll be better from this series.”
ASU’s second period surge – where they scored three unanswered goals against a 2-0 Minnesota lead – began with a power play. The man-advantage has failed the Sun Devils this season, but Powers said prior to the series that it was the main item practiced over the holiday break. On Monday night, it served as the spark ASU desperately needed.
With 16:35 left in the second period, senior forward Sean Dhooghe received the puck unsuspectedly. A pass intended for another ASU player across the ice deflected off a Golden Gopher’s skate and ended up on the senior forward’s stick. A lack of opportunity for points has plagued Dhooghe this year – his two goals in 14 games was not what ASU was expecting from the transfer from Wisconsin. But this time, he fired one home.
The deflection caught Minnesota off guard, and the puck from dead-on went right by Golden Gophers sophomore goaltender Jared Moe.
The momentum from the goal carried. Five minutes later, a two-on-two rush spearheaded by ASU junior forward PJ Marrocco resulted in the 5-foot-8-inch winger slinging another puck past Moe from straight-on, tying the game at two with 10:21 left for Marrocco’s first of the season.
“It felt pretty good, especially at that time to tie up the game,” Marrocco said. “I love scoring goals so it’s nice to finally get on the score sheet.”
The period’s action was far from over. After playing limited minutes Sunday night in his return to the ice, senior forward Johnny Walker – one of the country’s premier goal-scorers – resumed a normal workload for the Sun Devils on Monday, and it looked like he missed no time.
Walker began his attack on the Minnesota net from behind it. The Sun Devil captain lifted the puck up with his stick, skated around the corner, and threw it in lacrosse-style to give ASU a 3-2 lead with 8:47 left in the period.
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“I don’t think anybody works on that,” Powers said. “That’s just a world-class skill set he has. Any of us that have been around him for as long as we have – I knew what he was doing as soon as the he went behind the net. He’s tried it before and almost scored on it. To do it on edge and to do it so cleanly, it was pretty impressive.”
Walker, who said he’s never scored a goal like that at any level, added: “I tried it last year and the goalie made a good save. I don’t think it’s something that you look for. I think it evolves organically and just happens in the scheme of the game. It’s not something you go into a game thinking about.”
Minnesota answered promptly. Less than two minutes later, the game was tied once again thanks to ASU’s nemesis from the night before: Minnesota junior forward Sampo Ranta.
After pouring in two goals Sunday, Ranta struck again to ruin ASU’s second period party. With 7:16 left in the second, Ranta connected on a deep shot through multiple skaters, which skirted by freshman goaltender Cole Brady and resulted in his removal from the game. The goal tied the game at three.
“He just didn’t have it and that’s okay,” Powers said of Brady, who had 12 saves on the night.
“It was a momentum thing. It was a shot on a screen. I don’t think many goalies are going to save that. But he [Brady] just didn’t really have it and you could tell. We needed a little bit of a boost.”
The Golden Gophers took advantage of the freshness from junior goaltender Evan DeBrouwer, who replaced Brady. With 3:35 left in the period, DeBrouwer watched a puck shot by Minnesota senior defenseman Sam Rossini from deep on the right side of the ice whizz by him to give the Golden Gophers a 4-3 lead.
Minnesota sealed its win with an insurance goal with 7:35 left in the game. DeBrouwer thought he had saved a shot from a Golden Gopher stick, but the puck sneaked out and drifted to his left and was tapped in by Minnesota senior forward Brannon McManus to make it 5-3. The Golden Gophers added a sixth goal with 2:25 left, and ASU struck back thanks to a goal by junior defenseman Jarrod Gourley with 1:13 left to make it 6-4. DeBrouwer finished with 14 saves on the night.
“I told the guys after the game that they have to collectively make a decision if they [want to play the way they did in the second] the entire game,” Powers said. “That’s how you string together wins and beat a team that good. Hopefully we learn from it.”
ASU’s fight in the second period before falling off didn’t come easy. Mistakes, a potent Minnesota offense and a lack of puck possession in the offensive zone hurt ASU’s chances to respond to Minnesota’s two early goals.
The Golden Gophers struck first after a cluster of shots and bodies developed in front of Brady midway through the first period. Minnesota sophomore forward Bryce Brodzinski finally punched one of the shots in to give the Golden Gophers a 1-0 lead with 10:10 left in the period.
Later in the period, the lack of offense plagued ASU even more. With 3:48 left in the first, Minnesota got a rush as the Sun Devils were making a shift change. The right side of the ice near the net was not defended by ASU, and Minnesota sophomore forward Jonny Sorenson wrapped around Brady’s net and poked the puck in to give the Golden Gophers a 2-0 lead.
“I know Cole wants those first two back,” Powers said.
ASU couldn’t have drawn a harder card to open its season’s second half. The Sun Devils arguably played Minnesota better than any team in the country has so far this year. But the learning curves and the almosts for ASU are piling up, and ranked opponents make up the Sun Devils’ next three series. With the second half of its schedule underway, ASU’s hopes of the NCAA Tournament could slowly start to close. Losses like Monday’s could be the those that are to blame if and when that time comes.
