ASU Men’s Hockey: Sun Devils comeback, blow lead in 5-4 loss to Notre Dame

(Photo: Riley Trujillo/WCSN)

Two goals scored in its first four games of the season left Arizona State Men’s Hockey searching for its offense and it found it last weekend against Wisconsin, where it swept the Badgers by scores of 8-5 and 3-1.

The Sun Devils’ fully intended to utilize their new discovery against Notre Dame and in both games of the series they did that. On Thursday night it came in the form of a 6-3 win and on Friday night the Sun Devils scored four unanswered goals in the second period to take a 4-2 lead after falling behind early.

But, in Friday’s series finale — a night where freshman forward Matthew Kopperud netted two more goals — none of that mattered. The Sun Devils (3-4-1) fell to the Irish (3-3) by a final score of 5-4.

“I don’t like how we played,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “Credit to Notre Dame. They didn’t give up.”

ASU’s 4-2 lead collapsed midway through the third period against Notre Dame as the Sun Devils couldn’t stop a shot that carened across the net behind ASU freshman goaltender Cole Brady. It ended up in front of Notre Dame junior forward Jake Pivonka’s stick and the Illinois-native poked it in to make it 4-3 Sun Devils with 8:38 left in the game.

Pivonka’s goal was reviewed for goalie interference but that call remained the same. Powers voiced his displeasure with the decision.

“They think that Gvido [Jansons] pushed him into [Brady],” Powers said. “But you can’t just campout in the crease like that. You have to get out. [Notre Dame’s skater] didn’t get out and he impeded the fight to make the save. I’ll go to my grave thinking that should not have counted.”

Just 1:17 later, Notre Dame sophomore forward Solag Bakich tied the game at four with 7:21 left in the game for his second career goal. The Fighting Irish offensive resurgence did not end there.

With just five seconds left in the game, Notre Dame junior defenseman Nick Leivermann gave his team the lead after a scramble ensued in front of Brady. Following another review — which Powers also disagreed with — Notre Dame took a 5-4 lead.

“It was a tale of two periods,” Powers said. “I thought we were as good as we could possibly be in the second and they were as good as they could possibly be in the third.”

A game with plenty of late blemishes still had its bright spots for the Sun Devils. Kopperud’s hot streak continued, as the freshman poured in two more goals and recorded an assist. His six goals on the season are tied for the most in the country and his 10 points lead the nation’s freshmen.

“It’s confidence,” Powers said of Kopperud. “He’s feeling it. It’s just coming off his stick and he’s finding the back of the net. It’s what he does. He’s a goal-scorer.”

After falling behind 2-0, ASU finished the first period strong when junior forward Jordan Sandhu netted a rebound for his first goal of the season. Kopperud, who fired the shot Sandhu later found for a score, recorded the assist.

“It’s awesome playing with [Sandhu],” Kopperud said. “I knew him before we came here – we played in the same league before. He’s just a hard worker and a super good guy so we have a good friendship that works well.”

By the midway point of the second period, ASU began to find its offensive momentum. Kopperud found himself open right in front of Notre Dame senior goalie Dylan St. Cyr, got the puck and fired it in to tie the game at two with 7:09 left in the period.

Four minutes and 33 seconds later, the Sun Devils’ power play – which has struggled mightily so far this season – came through, and it was Kopperud that found the net once again to put ASU up 3-2 with 2:36 left.

“Playing with Koumo [junior winger Demetrios Koumontzis] and Sandy [Sandhu] is a big factor,” Kopperud said of his performance. “[It’s about] how smart they both are and how hard Sandy works.”

ASU capped off its second period onslaught with its fourth unanswered goal after freshman forward Ryan O’Reilly rebounded a shot from redshirt junior forward Chris Grando to put the Sun Devils up 4-2.

“That was a clinic,” Powers said of the period. “That was really fun to watch. It was fun to coach and fun to be there for. You could see how good we could be.”

Notre Dame still proved to be too much for the Sun Devils on Friday night. Brady – who has shared starts with junior goalie Evan DeBrouwer so far this season – recorded 42 saves in ASU’s loss.

The first goal the freshman allowed was off an ASU turnover as Notre Dame gained a 3-on-2 rush down the ice. Slick passing from the Fighting Irish resulted in junior forward Alex Steeves shooting the puck toward the net and it sliding past Brady to make it 1-0 Notre Dame with 14:50 left in the period.

ASU did not recover well from its mistake. Thirteen seconds later, the Sun Devils’ attempt to clear a puck deep in its defensive zone was ill-fated. It ended up in Notre Dame freshman forward Landon Slaggert’s possession, and the South Bend-native balanced the puck perfectly in mid-air and fired it past Brady’s left shoulder to give the Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead.

The Sun Devils entered Friday night’s contest focused on maintaining their gaudy offensive output from the three games prior and they emphatically accomplished that. Even so, ASU left South Bend searching for the win column after clearly having a chance to earn its fourth straight victory.

“This has to be a loss that we learn from, not one that sets us back,” Powers said to his team. “We can learn a ton from this loss because we’re going to have leads a lot. We’ve got to play the right way when we have leads and not let off the gas.

“Tonight for whatever reason, we did.”