ASU Men’s Hockey: Sun Devils find confidence in sweep over Air Force

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Arizona State earned its first sweep of the season this weekend against Air Force at Cadet Ice Arena with a 3-0 victory in the first game and a 5-2 win in game two.

Over 7,000 feet above sea level, the Sun Devils (3-3) grinded out two confidence-building wins on the road against the highly-physical Falcons.

“Any win on the road in college hockey is hard, let alone a sweep in altitude against a team that plays hard,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “We got some bounces and some breaks and finished our opportunities. It was a great road win and a great road sweep.”

The pair of contests came after the Sun Devils trudged through their first four games of the season. They dropped the opening night match against Mercyhurst, narrowly won the second game despite poor late-game play and were dominantly swept by then No. 3 Minnesota State.

The three losses in four games were eye openers for the Sun Devils, especially so when it came to their goaltending. In the first four games, ASU’s goalies — sophomore Evan DeBrouwer, graduate transfer Max Prawdzik and freshman Justin Robbins — had a combined save percentage of just .868 and have allowed an average of 4.00 goals-per-contest.

Looking for some sort of resolution in front of the net, DeBrouwer allowed just two goals against Air Force. Both came in the second game.

“I felt really comfortable,” DeBrouwer said. “The guys made it really easy for me. There were a lot of blocked shots. Whenever there was a mistake that I made, the defense was right there to help me out. I’ve felt more and more comfortable every game we’ve played this year.”

Added Powers: “This is a great step in the right direction for Evan. He is certainly building confidence.”

DeBrouwer posted a .962 save percentage over the course of the weekend, saving 51 of 53 shot attempts. The excellent performance was, however, aided in no small part by ASU’s defense.

“This was a huge weekend for us,” DeBrouwer said. “The guys rose to the occasion. We played two really team-oriented games. Everybody was bought in. When we play like we did this weekend, a lot of times we’re going to come away with four points.”

The Sun Devils’ defense blocked a season-high 43 shots in front of DeBrouwer over the two-game set. It was a defensive performance that aided the ASU sweep and one that could serve as a benchmark moving forward, with Quinnipiac on ASU’s schedule after the bye week.

In Friday night’s 3-0 victory, the Sun Devils executed their game plan with a total team effort and confident third-period play.

Senior forward Tyler Busch skated in his 100th career game and notched the game’s first score in the middle frame, giving the Sun Devils an important 1-0 edge after 40 minutes of play.

“Tonight was huge for Tyler,” Powers said. “He’s such a good kid and he’s such a leader and he’s been so good to our program and he was frustrated because things weren’t going his way, nothing was really generating for him. Tonight, when he skates like that and has legs and he plays the way he did, he’s a force and he was really good for us.”

The Sun Devils’ solid play on Friday night was noticeable on both ends of the ice. ASU’s defense did its part in the Friday night shutout victory and the offense, led by Johnny Walker’s 2-0 insurance tally and Willie Knierim’s empty-net goal which sealed the Sun Devils’ first road win of the 2019-2020 campaign.

“I think we got better every period,” Powers said of the first game. “The first was a good road period and we didn’t give up anything. In the second we started to take hold of the game a little bit and we played well in the third. Really good team win. Not one guy on the bench wasn’t completely bought in.”

On Saturday, ASU implemented the same game plan, utilizing early offense and shut-down defense in the intense atmosphere of Cadet Ice Arena.

Sophomore forward Demetrios Koumontzis scored 74 seconds into the game on ASU’s first power-play opportunity on a back-door seem pass from junior forward James Sanchez.

Sanchez finished the weekend with four points, including ASU’s second goal of the night. He leads the Sun Devils with seven assists and is tied for the team lead in total points (9) with Walker through six games.

While ASU’s top line has carried the load, one Sun Devil got his name on the scoresheet for the first time in maroon and gold at a critical moment.

After Air Force crawled back with a goal late in the second period, freshman forward Logan Jenuwine rifled in his first goal of the season to restore ASU’s two-goal lead at the beginning of the third period.

The Sun Devils allowed the Falcons to set up a power-play goal down low to cut their lead to one.

It was the only power-play score allowed in 11 opportunities for Air Force this weekend – a testament to the team’s shot-blocking resiliency and team-first mentality.

After the Air Force goal, sophomore defenseman Josh Maniscalco responded with a one-timer blast on an ASU power play, restoring the two-goal cushion right before the midway point of the third period.

Despite immense pressure from Air Force in the final five minutes, DeBrouwer shut the door with 12 stops in the final period alone including a few sporadic saves when Air Force crashed toward the blue paint.

“I was seeing everything,” DeBrouwer said. “Guys were either blocking the puck or letting me see it, so it made my job really easy.”

After this weekend’s sweep, DeBrouwer’s save percentage jumped from .874 to .908 while his goals against average dropped from 4.02 to 2.74.

“For guys to go give it everything they got on the penalty kill, that’s huge,” senior defenseman and co-captain Brinson Pasichnuk said. “I’m so proud of the boys. Every single guy in that room completely gave everything they had this weekend. The results like that will come when that happens.”

The Sun Devils fly back home with some confidence under their belt knowing that they’re capable of finding their way back to the NCAA Tournament despite the rough start.

“This season started a little rocky for us compared to last year,” Brinson Pasichnuk said. “These guys never give up, and that’s what we really saw this weekend. Teams can easily fold after starting the year 1-3, but not this team.”

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