(Photo: Nick Badders/WCSN)
For the first time in program history, Arizona State women’s hockey will play for the conference title, following a 3-1 victory over the Utah Utes in the second game of the WWCHL playoffs.
Like Friday against Colorado State, the Sun Devils started out slow Saturday afternoon, perhaps even slower. The game stayed scoreless for over 25 minutes, until Utah struck in the second period.
“[Arizona State] came into the game thinking they had it down and you can’t go into that mindset,” head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “We are a very young team and anything can happen in the postseason, anything at all. I think they learned that lesson today. I’m happy they learned that lesson but it’s not good enough in that type of situation.”
Against CSU, special teams shined, with all four goals coming with a skater advantage. Against Utah, it was a different story. ASU could not convert on its first seven power play opportunities, finishing 1 for 10.
“Yesterday we had the urge to gain possession of the puck and tonight, nobody wanted it,’ Ellis said. “I think today was a little bit better after we changed things up and got people out there that wanted to get that puck so it took a little bit of changes, but we made it happen.”
Eight minutes after the Utes opened the scoring, freshman Karlie Chadwick found the net to tie the score at one, where it remained until halfway through the third.
The Devils finally scored with an extra skater, when freshman Taylor Northcott fired a shot into the during a near two-minute 5-on-3 advantage.
“It kind of happened in slow motion,” Northcott said. “I got the puck and saw that Erin [Rawls] was screening the goalie, I picked my corner and I got it in so it was pretty good.”
Andi Main added her second empty net goal in as many nights with 22 seconds remaining in the game, putting the night out of reach for the Utes.
Improving their record to 17-4 and 2-0 on the weekend, the Sun Devils now focus their attention on the No. 11 Colorado Buffaloes. The two will play Sunday at noon, with the winner securing the WWCHL Championship and a berth to the ACHA National Championship in Dallas at the end of March.
“This is obviously something that going into the last two or three years, we’ve had the expectation that we can get there, we can compete with these teams,” senior goaltender Jordan Nash-Boulden said. “Now it’s a reality and I think we have the right group of girls in the locker room to really make that push and take it all the way, and we’ve known that since the beginning of the season.”
Nash-Boulden made 17 saves on 18 shots on Saturday, giving her a .952 save percentage on the weekend.
“We have to have better starts,” Ellis said. “After that, we have to be better overall, we understand [tonight’s] performance isn’t going to win us a championship, it’s as simple as that.”
