(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
After an exhilarating fight to the finish for the Devils on Friday night by going beyond regulation time for a victory, Arizona State women’s hockey was able to take a sigh of relief in last night’s season finale as they only needed three periods to cap off the series sweep.
The Devils had a clean sweep against Grand Canyon University this weekend, topped off with a 4-2 victory. Out of six games between these two rivals this season, ASU held the advantage by winning four.
The Sun Devils came out of the gates with pressure and firepower. This time, the team was able to get its shots in the back of the net — something that was not a common scene in the first game of this series.
“We were getting a lot of shots on [Friday] but we just couldn’t get them in,” freshman forward Danielle Dupont said. “I honestly think once [Kat Jones] got that first goal, that’s what got us going.”
Dupont was able to sneak the puck past GCU goaltender Haylee Gannaway on a fast break for the team’s second goal of the evening during the second period. The goal finished Dupont’s regular season point total with 15 — five goals and 10 assists.
The credit of the electric performance goes to the effort of the team throughout the series. With a full roster all season long, it has allowed head coach Lindsey Ellis to make adjustments within the lines throughout the year. Effort was a repetitive word heard throughout the weekend.
“It has to be a full team effort. We can’t have just one person giving effort when there’s six people on the ice,” Ellis said. “Really it’s just going out there and working hard as a full unit.”
The offense tallied five goals in the series, which is a momentum builder for a team heading into a postseason filled with high-level competition.
It was the defense that made the difference for ASU tonight and Friday night.
“Our defense has held us in this entire year and this weekend was no different,” Ellis said. “Just the way they brought the puck up offensively. They were on every end of the ice, every zone — it’s hard to miss them. And there was only four of them, so it was really cool to see them play that well for 60 minutes.”
Sixty minutes was a refresher for this ASU squad after surviving a nail-biting, overtime finish just 24-or-so hours before the puck drop to last night’s game, the team’s fourth overtime game of the year.
“We weren’t going to settle with what we had yesterday,” senior defenseman K.C. McGinley said. “I told them that I’m all for the big, overtime, game-winning, shorthanded goal but don’t do that to me tonight — I can’t handle it.”
Amongst the rivalry wins, records were broken this weekend for the Devils. The team broke its record for most wins in a season (9) after surpassing last season’s win total (8). Freshman forward Kat Jones is now the record-holder for ASU Women’s Hockey for the most points (21) and goals (13) in a single season. Jones broke the points record in the first game of the series with the record previously held by former player and current assistant coach, Amber Galles, and current senior captain, K.C. McGinley.
Saturday night, McGinley played her final game at Oceanside Ice Arena — home of the Sun Devils. The senior captain has played a prodigious role for this team and organization as a whole. If the team made statues, hers would stand tall right outside of the arena.
“[She’s] been a big part of this team. [McGinley] was the first commit actually. It’s really sad to see her go, especially coming in,” Dupont said. “She was that person to look up to, gave it everything she had, she’s just a big role model for everyone on the team.”
McGinley finished with six points on the regular season — four goals and two assists.
“She’s helped me gain confidence. When I came in I was a bit nervous…first year,” Dupont said. “She helped me realize that I can do it, I can carry the puck. She believed in me and she believes in everyone on this team.”
With the regular season wrapped up for the 2018-19 season, the Devils still have a chance to improve their record and boost their stats, the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League playoffs will begin in just a couple of weeks in Las Vegas. The Devils have secured the No. 3 seed with wins this weekend and will look to build off of the momentum they gained after this rivalry sweep.
With that being said, there is always room for improvement.
“It’s really the little things. We really have to work on perfecting our power play a little bit, it’s a little shaky still,” Ellis said. “Getting those offensive opportunities and the transitions in the neutral zone but it’s just little things we need to perfect before going into playoffs.”
