(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)
During Saturday night’s game against No. 5 ranked Quinnipiac (9-1-2), it was apparent that Arizona State Men’s Hockey (6-6-0) started the game off with a ‘Bend but don’t break’ style of defense.
However, every defense has its breaking point, and Quinnipiac was able to find ASU’s, handing the Sun Devils a 5-2 loss to sweep the weekend series.
By just looking at the scoreboard at the end of the first period on Saturday night, with ASU leading 1-0, one would think that the Sun Devils were playing on the same level or even better than the nation’s fifth-best team.
However, that was not the case.
Quinnipiac controlled the puck for most of the first period, taking 30 shots – 18 of them being on goal. ASU only shot the puck 10 times, with four of them being on goal.
The Bobcats also dominated the Sun Devils in faces-offs in the first period, winning 15. ASU only won four.
Even with the offensive domination from the Bobcats, ASU was somehow able to escape the first period with a 1-0 lead. This can mostly be credited to its junior goalkeeper Ben Kraws, who made 18 saves, and sophomore forward Ryan O’Reilly, who scored his first goal of the season just under the six minute mark.
O’Reilly’s goal helped the Sun Devils get out to an early lead against the Bobcats, mimicking the same start they had Friday night, where ASU went up 2-0 in the first period against Quinnipiac.
However, the Bobcats didn’t wait to go down three goals to start their comeback on Saturday. Once the referee dropped the puck for the second period, they began a three goal onslaught on the Sun Devils.
Quinnipiac’s first score came just two minutes into play, when senior forward Michael Lombardi netted an odd goal in which Kraws incidentally moved the net. Nevertheless, the goal counted.
The Bobcats next two scores came within the last two minutes of the period, the first coming when graduate forward Oliver Chau scored off of assists from senior forward Wyatt Bongiovanni and senior defenseman Zach Metsa.
The next goal came less than a minute later, when senior forward Desi Burgart took the puck from sophomore defenseman Iivari Räsänen and drove it down the middle of the ice, shooting it past Kraws.
Quinnipiac ended up dominating its second frame of the night, taking 31 shots – 21 of them on goal. Kraws left the second period with 18 saves.
The third period looked slightly different from the previous two. Quinnipiac, already up 3-1, wasn’t as aggressive on offense, only shooting 21 times, with 14 of them being on goal.
ASU was able to put one more point on the board, when Quinnipiac junior defenseman Jayden Lee knocked the puck into his own goal just 56 seconds into the period. ASU sophomore defenseman Tim Lovell was credited with the point.
The Cougars ended the night scoring two goals in the final period, both being from Chau. Chau ended the night with a hat trick, with his last goal coming off of an empty net from ASU.
With Quinnipiac dominating Saturday’s game, taking 82 shots, Kraws was able to notch a new career high in saves: 49.
Kraws and ASU’s next game comes with a return to Oceanside Ice Arena, when it takes on Bemidji State on Nov. 24.
