(Photo: Marina Williams)
Saturday Night Fever is what most Arizona State fans feel on the weekend in Tempe. At Ralph Engelstad Arena Saturday night, ASU was hoping to get a taste of the fever for itself. Coming off a 5-2 loss the night prior, and being 1-4-1 in their last six games, the Sun Devils came into Grand Forks looking to right their wrongs and get themselves a much-needed NCHC conference road win.
The Sun Devils (4-7-1) were able to weather the storm against intense pressure from the No. 6 Fighting Hawks (8-4-0) and take home all three all-important NCHC points. ASU was able to reverse the result from the previous night, coming out on top with a score of 4-2.
The Fighting Hawks started the game the way they left off Friday night. Just two and a half minutes into the game, freshman forward Ben Strinden got North Dakota going by firing a shot towards the net, which eventually deflected off a Sun Devil defenseman and went into the back of the net. It was almost an identical start to their last conference road game for head coach Greg Powers’ men, but he ended on a jolly note this time.
A big reason for the Sun Devils’ turnaround was their power play, going 1-for-3 in Saturday’s contest. The lone goal on the power play by sophomore forward Cullen Potter came at an opportune time for ASU, as it prevented it from slipping any further down and tied the game up. In Friday’s games, and in many of its losses this season, ASU has gone down by multiple goals at a time. With the goal, the Sun Devils were able to go into the first intermission tied, despite being outshot 9-4.
The Sun Devils started all three periods poorly in Saturday’s win. In all three, the Sun Devils failed to get more than 3 shots in the first half of the period. The lack of offensive force for ASU was evident all night long, as it was outshot by the Fighting Hawks 41-15. Nonetheless, when the Sun Devils got their opportunities, they made them count.
Senior goalie Connor Hasley returned to the Sun Devil net after not having started since the first of November, a 5-2 loss to Miami. Giving up an early goal, the game could’ve gotten away from Hasley quickly. Instead, the New York native stood on his head the entire game, coming up with 39 saves on the night. Following the Sun Devils conceding an early third-period goal off a defensive mistake, the pressure built up on them. Halsey proceeded to come up with save after save, including robbing the Fighting Hawks of a goal just 40 seconds after the first, eventually leading them to empty their net, and the Sun Devils finishing it off.
Having two good goalies is a great problem to have, and that is exactly the kind of issue that Powers will have to face moving forward this season. Both goaltenders have shown moments of dominance, but Hasley’s performance Saturday night will give the Sun Devil coaching staff something to think about.
Saturday’s game had a lot of elements that mirrored many games this season. Whether it be a slow start, having the lead late in the game, or extended periods of time soaking up the push from the opponent, these are situations that ASU has found itself in and lost. The difference for the Sun Devils is that in this game, the group of young players found a way to close out the game. Whether it was freshman Sam Alfano with an assist or sophomore Logan Morrell with a goal, ASU’s young core rose to the occasion in the win.
The Sun Devils’ big road series win comes at a similar time as they did last year. At around this time last year, ASU was 1-3-0 in conference play before sweeping then top-ranked Denver on the Road, ultimately leading to it finishing second in the NCHC regular season. The Sun Devils are looking for Saturday’s win to lead to the same type of conference success. ASU will return home next weekend as it hosts No. 4 Denver in a rematch of last year’s NCHC semifinal, which the Pioneers won.
