Photo: (Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)
TEMPE — When graduate forward Adam Eisele slung the puck into the net to put Ohio State up 3-0, the only sound echoing from Mullett Arena was silence. 14 minutes and 16 seconds remained before the final buzzer, and no one would’ve blamed Arizona State fans for thinking that was the perfect moment to try and beat traffic.
However, a majority of the maroon and gold supporters who made their way to the rink on Thanksgiving weekend did the exact opposite. Those in attendance decided to remain in their seats in the hopes of seeing the slim chance of something miraculous occurring come true.
It only took 30 seconds for such patience to pay off. The Sun Devils (7-8-1, 3-4-1 NCHC) scored four unanswered goals to pull off an improbable third-period comeback, eventually defeating the Buckeyes (5-10, 1-5 Big Ten) 4-3 in overtime on Saturday evening.
“They could have easily got up and started heading for the exits down three in the third period,” head coach Greg Powers said. “They all stayed, and they really powered us through that and gave us the juice we needed to come back and win this game.”
In what is becoming an occurring theme for ASU this season, the first and half of the second periods saw the team dictate play. The Sun Devils tilted puck possession in their favor, outshooting the Buckeyes 26-22 during the first 40 minutes to create numerous quality chances of pulling ahead early on.
However, the stalemate between the two teams prolonged deep into the second due to the Maroon and Gold coming up empty on three straight turns on the man advantage alongside a strong start in net from freshman goaltender Sam Hillebrandt.
“I wouldn’t say it was our best 60-minute effort,” Powers said. “We were pretty good. Shots were 17 to 12 in the second. We were pretty good in the first and second, but not willing to ultimately pay the price to win. Winning hurts, and that’s what I said after the second period. Unless you’re willing to make it hurt, this is what it’s going to be.”
Freshman forward Jake Karabela ended the scoring drought on a wrist shot goal at the 14-minute mark of the second period to put the Buckeyes ahead. The Sun Devils’ Achilles heel of allowing an initial opposing goal to snowball into a wave of game-changing momentum played out again when Eisele found the net from the blue line two seconds before the buzzer.
His power-play goal six minutes later appeared to be a potential series finale dagger, but the day prior proved that ASU knew how to overcome a third-period deficit. Trailing Ohio State 2-1 late during the series opener, heroics from the likes of sophomore forward and former Buckeye Noah Powell and senior forward Cruz Lucius helped the Sun Devils prevail 3-2 in overtime.
Furthermore, the Maroon and Gold had previously overcome a three-goal deficit three weeks earlier in eventually winning via shootout versus then-No. 20 Colorado College.
“You’ve got to think about every single minute of every single game like that; the game is on the line and we need to put pressure right away,” sophomore forward Cullen Potter said.
All comeback attempts have to start somewhere, as ASU only needed 30 seconds to start putting together a counterattack. Lucius charging towards the net and firing up a shot allowed freshman forward Jack Beck to sneakily capitalize on the rebound for a goal that finally broke the ice in the opposing zone.
Nine minutes remained when the Buckeye defense, selling out on blocking a shot from Potter, created an opening for him to find sophomore defenseman Joel Kjellberg all alone on the left face-off dot. The Swedish native’s one-timer score not only cut the deficit down to one, but gave him the first goal of his collegiate career.
Freshman forward Sam Alfano found himself in the perfect spot to tip in the equalizer amongst a desperate scramble breaking out right in front of the net, blowing the roof off of Mullett Arena while putting the Sun Devils in the driver’s seat to finish the game off in regulation with less than seven minutes left.
ASU appeared to do just that on a Lucius goal 30 seconds before the horn, but a challenge from Ohio State revealed a high stick infraction by Potter that negated the potential game-winner.
“I wasn’t sure if I high-sticked it, I thought I maybe kept it below my shoulder,” Potter said. “Obviously, it sucks that they took it back because it’s better to win in regulation for points and all that stuff, but you know, when they took it back, I think we all had confidence in ourselves going into three-on-three overtime.”
Powers deployed the highly risky maneuver of sending out three forwards onto the ice to start overtime for the second straight night, but his luck wasn’t as immediate as Friday evening. Both teams entered a defensive slugfest that whittled the clock all the way down to 35.2 seconds, where Powers used a timeout to scheme up his next move.
He sent out Lucius, senior forward Bennett Schimek and specifically sophomore forward Logan Morrell in hopes that he’d win the face-off and gain the final possession. When Morrell did, Powers quickly subbed him out for Potter.
Lucius slung the puck down the ice to Schimek, who used the 2-on-1 situation to find Potter on the left side. The first-round pick wasted no time in ripping a shot off for the game-clinching goal for his second overtime winner of the season, as well as the fourth time he found the back of the net in the past five games.
“Just because of my speed, I think guys kind of try to stay on me when I try to wind up, and we kind of knew that,” Potter said. “I know I can beat anyone on the ice, so we just drew up a spot pass to (Schimek) and I’m gonna beat my guy up the ice and it worked out like we thought it would.”
The come-from-behind effort gives ASU its first series sweep of an opponent since the NCHC Quarterfinals against Minnesota Duluth during the 2024-25 season.
In a similar fashion to that campaign, the Sun Devils are looking for a turning point after starting off the year on the wrong foot. Back-to-back overtime wins in the out-of-conference slate to go along with a three-game winning streak could be the remedy of momentum the team needs going into a bye week and a road trip to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth.
“I’m as proud of this group as I’ve been out of any because a lot of people started counting us out, and that’s not lost on us,” Powers said. “But the belief in our room is still there, and we’re right where we need to be after a big sweep.”
