(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
After receiving a program-record 20 USCHO poll votes, Arizona State’s men’s hockey was confident it could put up a decent fight against No. 6 Penn State.
It more than did that.
The Sun Devils split the two-game series with the Nittany Lions, falling in a close 6-5 battle in Game 1 while winning in overtime 4-3 in Game 2.
“From a program standpoint, absolutely the best win to date,” coach Greg Powers told Sun Devils Athletics after the win, the program’s first against a top-10 team. “To beat that team on the road is a huge milestone for our guys.”
It was Penn State’s first loss of the year. To deal that to one of the best teams in the country shows the progress being made with this Sun Devils team. ASU hung close with at the time No.1 Ohio State early in the season, but were never able to come through. It gave the Sun Devils confidence, though.
Now they’re riding even higher, according to Powers.
“[It’s the best win to date] because of what it does for the confidence,” he said.
The weekend wasn’t all smiles though. Friday night the Sun Devils had a 4-3 lead well into the 3rd period before squandering three straight goals to the Nittany Lions. That game felt like the one the Sun Devils were supposed to win. ASU hung close in the shot differential (with nine fewer), stayed disciplined (with only two penalties committed, the Sun Devils capitalized on one of their biggest keys heading into the series), and got big contributions from their top producers, such as freshman Joshua Maniscalco, who buried his first goal of the year.
“We had them right where we wanted them,” Powers said after the loss. “I thought we outplayed them in the second and we were up a goal against maybe the best team in the country, definitely one of the top five, and we let it slip away. It’s disappointing but a great learning experience for our guys.”
The Sun Devils took that experience and applied it to Saturday’s night game. Though the stats weren’t nearly as pretty, the Sun Devils kept it close and forced overtime, when sophomore forward Johnny Walker netted the game-winner.
It wasn’t easy. ASU was outshot 43-25, committed 10 penalties (including six in the second period, where ASU inversely scored two goals), and blew a the 3-1 lead they held heading into the 3rd period. Once again, closing was an issue for the Devils.
“We have to find a way to close those out,” Powers said after Friday night’s loss. That was relevant after Saturday night as well.
Penn State tied with just 2:11 left in the 3rd period. But it wasn’t along after, despite the period changing, that ASU answered back.
Walker’s impact has been impossible to ignore to since the end of last season and at the beginning of this one. A season ago, he was one of the lone bright spots on an eight-win team. But as this campaign has gone on, it’s easy to tell that this isn’t just a fluke. He’s still leading the country in goals and points and was named ESPN’s best player in the world of the week on Tuesday. “The week”, which represented Walker’s performance last weekend against Nebraska-Omaha, can probably be extended for another.
Just a minute into the overtime period, he delivered again by burying his 11th goal of the season, one that sealed another historic step for ASU’s young program.
