(Photo: Reagan Smith/WCSN)
“Once they find their flow, they find it 100 percent.”
Those were the words that Arizona State Women’s Hockey head coach Lindsey Ellis stated after the second period of the second Colorado State game, Saturday morning.
At that time, sophomore forward and ACHA leading goal scorer Danielle Dupont had only scored one of her four goals of the game.
The team won 9-1.
Just about nine hours later, the Sun Devils looked to carry that momentum 15 miles up northeast to a depleted but fiery University of Denver.
Coming into Saturday night’s match, the Devils looked poised to continue its complete domination over DU, having lost to the Pioneers just once in program history (six games).
The Pioneers faced a tall mountain, armed with only six dressed skaters and a goaltender.
ASU took that to its complete advantage, striking almost instantaneously. It took only two minutes and twenty-eight seconds for freshman defenseman Taylor Northcott to tickle the twine for her second goal of the day and season.
Yet, even with the quick punch to the gut, the Denver team did not back down to the consistent pressure of the ASU forecheck.
Instead, the DU squad stood stalwart in its defensive zone, playing a penalty style system of play to help combat the lack of manpower. Backed by the glove and pads of junior goaltender Tanner Stover, the Pioneers kept the game 1-0 entering the third.
“They’re not to be taken lightly,” Ellis said. They came out to play…nothing was easy by any means.”
The constant pressure inside of the offensive zone proved to be just too much for the Pioneers. The floodgates opened four minutes into the third period as sophomore forward Kat Jones added an insurance goal past Stover.
Dupont notched her fifth of the day just 25 seconds later, only for Jones to strike again 39 seconds after that.
The Devils put together three goals in the span of 1:04, the fastest goals in the program’s history.
At the final horn, it was Sun Devil sophomore goaltender Landry Phelps who stole the show. The 4-0 victory marked her first every career shutout with the Sun Devils and added yet another milestone to the team’s historic start.
“It feels good, but honestly if there was any other result in that game, I would have been a little disappointed,” Phelps said. “I know what we’re capable of and I know how the team in front of me can play.”
It was a quick turnaround yet again for ASU entering into Sunday morning’s finale with DU. A 4-0 record was at stake before the team packed up shop and returned home to Phoenix.
Sophomore Macy Eide got the call in net for the Sun Devils.
Immediately, there seemed to be a different air around the Pioneer skaters. The penalty kill style of play was still ever prevalent, but this time, Denver found some success in breaking itself out of the defensive zone. In fact, for certain points in the first, Denver appeared to be controlling the tempo of play.
Even still, it was ASU who found themselves ahead on the scoreboard 1-0 at the end of the first period with a last-minute goal by Dupont to bring her goal tally to six on the season.
Fans had to wait until there was about four minutes remaining in the game to see the goal that broke the camel’s back.
A deliberately covered puck by the hand of DU forward Grace Hayes after a shot from the blue line called for a stoppage of play for delaying the game. Instead of a two-minute penalty, ASU was awarded a penalty shot due to the nature of the penalty.
Northcott got the call from the benches to take responsibility. She did not disappoint, burying the puck blocker side to seal the Devils victory.
Sophomore Sheridan Gloyd added one more tally in the final minute to secure the victory.
Eide recorded her first career shutout as well.
By the end of the first weekend of play, ASU found itself 4-0 for the first time ever. Filled with other firsts, such as the team’s first-ever back-to-back shutouts, Ellis had a lot of praise to give her players skill compared to where they were a year ago.
“Our breakouts are 100 times better than last year,” Ellis said. “Our net-front presence is [also] known this year.”
This weekend, ASU looks forward to its in-state rival in GCU. The series will kick-off the first two of five meetings with the Lopes.
