ASU Men’s Hockey: Sun Devils overcome third period struggles in first road win

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A complete third period lifted Arizona State to its first road win of the season against Air Force Friday night at Cadet Ice Arena.

Junior forward Johnny Walker’s 2-0 tally gave the Sun Devils (2-3) a comfortable cushion to finish the contest on a high note.

“When we did score, we didn’t let off the gas at all,” Walker said. “We stayed right with our game plan and just continued it into the next shift. There was no let up just because we have a 2-0 lead. It was just as hard, if not harder.”

Entering their fifth game of the season, the Sun Devils had surrendered ten of the 16 goals in the third period this year.

Tonight, ASU’s late-game lock-down defense translated into the team’s first confidence-building win of the season, thanks to head coach Greg Powers’ well-executed game plan from start to finish.

“We got better every period. Not one guy on the bench wasn’t completely bought in into how we needed to play,” Powers said. “We were really disciplined tonight. We bought into team defense.”

Sophomore goaltender Evan DeBrouwer collected his first collegiate shutout in the 15-save performance, including eight saves in the final period.

“DeBrouwer made a lot of big saves there. The boys were blocking shots. Everyone was selling out to get the lead and get that shutout for DeBrouwer,” said senior forward and co-captain Tyler Busch, who scored a goal in his 100^th career game.

The Sun Devils defense rose to the occasion at the perfect time, maintaining a steady composure and countering Air Force’s odd-man rushes with timely poke-checks and disruptive hits in the dying moments of the game.

That mentality was lacking through Arizona State’s first four games of the season. The Sun Devils allowed Mercyhurst to storm back with awkward turnovers and unstable puck control, even in ASU’s first win of the season at Oceanside Ice Arena.

Last weekend against then-No. 3 Minnesota State, ASU could not keep its composure against one of the top teams in the country.

Despite trailing by a goal in both games entering the third period, the Sun Devils’ lack of discipline in the final twenty minutes cost them five power-play goals in the back-to-back losses.

Tonight however, it seemed as if their third-period issues had completely vanished, and it was a feel-good win for a team that was in need of one.

Game Notes:

• Senior forward Brett Gruber did not travel with the team this weekend. He is out with an upper-body injury (week-to-week). Powers confirmed Gruber will be out until after the Quinnipiac series.
• Sophomore defenseman Jarrod Gourley and freshman defenseman Jack Judson were healthy scratches tonight. Junior defenseman Gvido Jansons and sophomore defenseman Connor Stuart filled into the lineup.

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