ASU takes another series against Arizona

This past weekend, the ASU men’s hockey team swept the University of Arizona Wildcats in their weekend series, extending their winning streak over their in-state rivals to 26 in a row; the two wins also brought the Devils to 3-0 on the season.

The Sun Devils outscored the Wildcats 15-4 in the series, with forward Kale Dolinski leading the offense with 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists).

“Ever since I’ve been here this has been a huge rivalry. If we don’t win we don’t feel good at the end of the day. It can go either way and luckily we came out on top,” Dolinski said. “My line played unbelievably, they gave me the puck at the opportune times and luckily I got through.”

The team blew out the Wildcats in the first game by a margin of 11-3. Seven different players scored for the Sun Devils; however, they accumulated a total of 22 penalty minutes.

“The final score was great; you have to be pleased with that. But we took too many penalties and we can’t have that. We preach discipline and clean hockey and there was just too much of that going on,” head coach Greg Powers said. “But there’s not too much to complain about when you beat a good hockey team 11-3.”

The second game was significantly closer with the Sun Devils coming out on top 4-1. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period, with Arizona outshooting ASU by a margin of 11-4.

In the second period the Sun Devils got an offense boost from Dolinski and forward Dave Jantzie who were both able to put away goals. Finally in the third period defender Jordan Young put the nail in the coffin when he scored with 15:40 left in the game. Sun Devil forward Dave Jantzie drives the puck into the offensive zone. (Photo credit: WCSN, Allyson Cummings)

“They came out a little angrier and we came out a little slower in the game. We still had it in us and once we figured out what was going on we turned around and did things the right way and got the win,” Young said. “This series teaches us how to get past adversity and do things the right way.”

With the win under their belts, the Sun Devils will travel to take on Iowa State for a weekend series on Oct. 5 and 6. Iowa State boasts a record of 6-1.

“Our expectations are always to win. We always believe that we have the best team on the ice, and if we out work our opponent, we know we’re going to win,” Powers said.