(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
The No.12 Arizona State women’s hockey team kicked off the Missouri Showcase with a bang Thursday night, toppling Concordia University Ann Arbor 8-1 in the program’s first blowout victory.
“It was exciting to be able to roll four lines like that and have the success that we did,” head coach Lindsey Ellis said.
Depth was an advantage for ASU, as the Sun Devils skated 18 players, compared to CUAA, who only had the ACHA minimum of 10 skaters.
Before Thursday, the Devils had never recorded a win by more than three goals or scored more than five in a game. Both feats were accomplished against Concordia with six different players scoring from ASU, including a hat trick from Kat Jones.
“We knew when she got one goal that she was going to be on fire,” Ellis said. “Ever since then she has been, it’s exciting for her to have that success today. And it was cool to see the entire team contribute to that win.”
Jones was the first on either sided and added additional goals in the second and third periods for her first collegiate hat trick and second in ASU history.
“When I think too much, I think too much and today I was relaxed and just did it,” she said. “When everyone on the team relaxes and doesn’t think too much, it works and everyone works well together, which is what we did today.”
The third period goal for the freshman forward was on the power play, just the second goal with a man advantage the team had scored all season long. For Jones, it was her sixth goal in the last three regular season games and with an assist on the night as well, takes the team lead in points with seven.
While ASU was the first to score, putting one in with just under two minutes to play, a goal with 20 seconds to play in the first period from CUAA sent the game tied heading into the intermission. That goal proved to be a turning point and the Devils came out looking like a different team in the second, scoring three goals and heading into the locker room up 4-1.
“We stayed positive, held each other accountable and executed what we were working on in practice,” freshman Sydney Hancock said. “Any time the other team scores, its motivating. Especially when it was so quick after we scored, you don’t have time to celebrate and you’re like, ‘we’ve got to work now. We need to get that back and prove it was just a fluke.”
Alyssa Ayers was the first to score in the middle frame, followed by Maya Elliott. Both goals were their second of the season. Jones added her second near the end of the period but the team did not stop there.
KC McGinley, Danielle Dupont and Hancock each scored in the third period, along with Jones’ third of the night. For Hancock, it was her first collegiate goal, making her the sixth freshman to score this year.
“I was so pumped, it was amazing,” Hancock said.
Molly Potter and Sheridan Gloyd each recorded two assists in the game, giving both three points on the season.
ASU took 73 shots on net over the game, the most the team has taken in a regular season game in program history. Sun Devil goaltender Jordan Nash-Boulden only faced 10 over the 60 minutes, nearly half of the 19 the record had previously stood at.
“At the beginning, we told them to pick corners after watching warmups,” Ellis said. “We talked about shooting low from the point and being able to follow up the rebounds. It was exciting for them to be able to notice what they were doing and then execute.”
While the team’s speed lacked in the first period and the Devils skated to the level of CUAA, things picked up in the second and provided a lesson learned for the entire roster.
“It shows you can’t go out flat-footed and you can’t go out at their level,” Jones said. “You have to go out at your level and player better than they do and from the start instead of from the second.
Now, ASU looks ahead to a game with Aquinas College at 7:30 p.m. Friday before wrapping up the weekend against No.2 McKendree Saturday.
“This win is good for us, now we know we can do it,” Hancock said. “We have this huge win under our belt and I think it’s important to keep us going and not stop.”
