(Photo Courtesy – Samantha Maxwell)
Scoring big goals for Arizona State Men’s Ice Hockey (13-16-0) has become second nature to senior forward Robert Mastrosimone.
In October, he scored the game-winner against then-No. 6 North Dakota in the 2022 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Less than a month later, ‘Mastro’ sealed an overtime victory over then-No. 2 Minnesota on a breakaway.
And with St. Thomas (7-17-2) in town on Saturday, the East Islip, New York native delivered once again, finishing on a breakaway in the extra frame to secure the sweep for the Sun Devils – their first since Nov. 11-12 against Alaska – Anchorage.
The game got off to a somewhat unexpected start, as it was announced shortly before puck drop that senior goaltender Ben Kraws was named the starter in place of sophomore T.J. Semptimphelter. Saturday marked Kraws’ first start since Mar. 12 of 2022, when he made 32 saves in a 5-1 ASU victory over LIU.
While Kraws looked strong early – turning aside the first six shots he faced – it took the Tommies just 4:28 to break the ice. Ryan Alexander’s eighth goal of the season midway through the frame evened the score momentarily, but St. Thomas would beat Kraws once again just over a minute later.
ASU’s defense didn’t make things easy for their netminder at first. The Sun Devils were outshot 19-7 in the opening period less than 24 hours after holding the Tommies to 17 tries through an entire 4-0 win.
“It didn’t go the way we wanted it to for Kraws,” Head coach Greg Powers said. “I think the team, unfortunately, played really poorly in the first. It was probably one of our worst periods of the year, and we just kind of found ourselves chasing the game.”
Powers group seemed to flip a switch upon returning to the ice for the middle stanza. During the final two frames, the Sun Devils tallied 26 shots to St. Thomas’ 17, in addition to generating far more scoring chances.
Almost at the halfway point of the period, it appeared ASU had tied the game when the puck trickled across the line with a lot of bodies in front of the net. While the goal was eventually overturned, St. Thomas senior defenseman Garrett Daly was called for tripping on the play, resulting in a penalty shot for the Sun Devils.
Taking the shot for ASU was a likely suspect – sophomore captain Josh Doan. And Powers said selecting Doan to go one-on-one with Tommies freshman netminder Aaron Trotter was a no-brainer.
“Doaner’s really been gripping it to score, and I didn’t have a doubt in my mind who I was going to pick,” Powers said.
As it turned out, Powers made the right decision. Doan went to his backhand and put the puck behind Trotter to even the score at two goals apiece.
“It’s [the backhand deke] a move that I’ve done since I was a kid,” Doan recalled. “When you’ve got pressure, you’ve just got to fall back on what you’re used to and just what you’re comfortable with, so that was the plan there.”
Believe it or not, Doan’s strike wouldn’t be the last penalty-shot goal of the night. Around six minutes later, Mastrosimone took a tripping penalty of his own, and St. Thomas was awarded a penalty shot. Tommies captain Matthew Jennings beat Kraws to regain the lead for the visitors.
At the start of the third period, Kraws didn’t assume his position between the pipes. Instead, it was regular starter T.J. Semptimphelter who Powers trusted to man the crease the rest of the way.
“It just felt like it was right. Krawsy didn’t play poorly at all, I don’t think that we were down 3-2 because of him,” Powers said. “But I mean, I think I made it abundantly clear that T.J. is my guy.”
Semptimphelter was perfect in the third, stopping all 11 shots that came his way while making some massive saves to keep the Tommies off the board. And the Sun Devils scored a massive goal with just over four minutes remaining in the third, as junior forward Benji Eckerle got to the front of the net and put home a pass by graduate forward Chris Grando.
Alexander’s first-period strike was similar to Eckerle’s in that it was a tip from a perfect pass. Powers said these goals were a result of the emphasis he put on throwing pucks on net.
“Just throw it at the net and good things happen,” Powers said. “If we commit to doing that we’re going to win a lot more games this year.”
The score stayed tied at the end of the first 60, meaning there were five more minutes of 3-on-3 overtime to determine a winner. It took just 37 seconds for the Sun Devils to emerge victorious, thanks to a beautiful 200-foot effort by Mastrosimone.
Despite the highlight-reel goal, Mastrosimone went to great lengths not to take credit, going as far as saying ASU’s “Vegas”-themed jerseys were to thank for the win.
“I think it’s those jerseys, honestly,” Mastrosimone said. “It’s three out of four games in those I’ve scored a big goal… So I won’t take any credit. The boys had a really good third period, really good second period and came out on top.”
The Sun Devils will look to build off their sweep as they travel to the Last Frontier to take on Alaska – Fairbanks, who sits at No. 19 in the PairWise Rankings.
