TEMPE — 10 NCAA National Championships, 20 Frozen Four appearances, and over 80 NHL players — just a few numbers that demonstrate how dominant Denver has been throughout its 70 years in the NCAA. Through just 20 minutes Friday night, a two-goal lead for the third-ranked Pioneers was just the beginning of their history lesson in Tempe.
That same domination was on full display at Mullet Arena as Arizona State (4-8-1, 2-4-1 NCHC) was outclassed by No. 3 Denver (9-3-1, 5-0-0 NCHC), who torched the Sun Devils in a 7-1 final.
“They are the hottest team in the country right now,” head coach Greg Powers said. “And tonight they showed why.”
It was ultimately a flurry of mistakes that spearheaded the Pioneer blowout, and it felt like every mistake that the Sun Devils made was a costly one.
The scoring started when sophomore defenseman Sam Court lost an edge along the blueline, creating a three-on-two opportunity for Denver. A miscommunication between two freshmen — defenseman Richard Baran and forward Carmelo Crandell — led to junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp being left on an island for an easy finish.
ASU’s goaltending was subpar as well, with freshman Samuel Urban getting pulled after giving up the first four goals, and senior Connor Hasley conceding a trio of scores in relief. The Sun Devils have leaned on both of their goaltenders in a number of close games this season, including their win over No. 6 North Dakota last weekend, where Hasley posted 39 saves on 41 shots.
“Any mistake we made ended up in the back of our net,” Powers said. “You hate to blame it on goaltending, and they’ve been really good for us. I don’t think they were terrible, but we need better goaltending than we got tonight, and I think they’d be the first to tell you that.”
While the stomping on the scoreboard suggests the same on the ice, there were a few positives to take away from ASU’s defeat.
The Sun Devils out-chanced the Pioneers 24 to 20 and showed a lot of promise through the first 20 minutes despite trailing by two, creating several chances and staying on pace with a potent Denver offense.
“[In the] first period we looked really good.” Powers said, “We did some good things, and there are a lot of really good things we can pull from the tape tonight.”
The even-strength struggles worsened over time, as most of ASU’s bright spots were on special teams, including a number of power-play chances.
One of those chances turned out to be the Maroon and Gold’s only goal, as senior forward and co-captain, Bennett Schimek, wired a wrist shot home from the high slot on a feed from sophomore forward and Calgary Flames first rounder draftee Cullen Potter.
ASU’s special teams has been one of the only aspects of its game that has found its footing. The Sun Devils were able to hold Denver to one power play goal on four opportunities, while going 1-for-2 on their man advantage.
ASU has now gone 9-for-11 on the penalty kill and 5-for-12 on the power play in its last five games. The only problem is that Schimek and senior forward Cruz Lucius have 15 of the team’s 36 goals.
“[We] just can’t have a two-show scoring for us,” Powers said. “We need more balanced scoring, and guys have to dig deep and figure it out.”
The elite offensive structure of the Pioneers simply overwhelmed the Sun Devil blue line, with a few standouts in particular proving to be too much to handle.
Pohlkamp, a San Jose Sharks fifth-round draft pick, had two goals on the night and an assist to boot, contributing on three out of the Pioneer’s first four goals. Senior forward and New Jersey Devils third-rounder, Samu Salminen, also had his say in the final score with a goal and three assists on the night.
“When you are struggling a little bit against a team that is dangerous, they are going to get their chances,” Powers said. “Because they are so skilled and they are really good, results are going to happen, like they happened tonight.”
ASU’s early-season struggles have only continued as conference play has deepened, and games are not going to get much easier. The Sun Devils are currently staring down ranked opponents in No. 4 Minnesota Duluth and No. 13 Dartmouth on the horizon, as Ohio State, which sits in the first spot outside the USCHO’s top-20, awaits them next week before the gauntlet of ranked teams continues.
However, Sun Devils’ main focus will be Saturday night’s rematch against the Pioneers, as they look to erase the series-opening thumping and claim their first non-tournament win in front of a home crowd this season.
“We are going to have those nights,” Powers said. “The guys just have to reset and bounce back. Simple as that.”
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