ASU Women’s Hockey: Freshmen continue strong weekend in 3-1 win over Aquinas

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

After an eight-goal performance Thursday, the Arizona State women’s hockey team didn’t let off the gas Friday, as the Sun Devils topped Aquinas College 3-1 for their second straight win. All three goals were scored and assisted by freshman.

Danielle Dupont contributed two goals on the effort, kicked off the scoring 20 seconds into the game with a goal. The freshman forward added her second of the game less than five minutes into the second period.

“I was trying to put pressure in the offensive zone and focus on getting those rebounds,” she said. “At the beginning of the game they weren’t covering the front of the net and I tried to take advantage.”

“What we like about Danielle is her intensity,” assistant coach Kaley Marino said. “It’s always on, whether she is scoring or not scoring, she is always intense and that brings an element that her teammates have to live up to as well.”

The first goal came on an assist from fellow freshman Kat Jones and Amy Gulliksen. The two now sit tied for the team with eight points each, an average of just over one a game.

Dupont’s second goal was assisted from Gulliksen, who took the team lead with five assists. ASU’s first line of Gulliksen, Dupont and Jones have combined for 23 points, representing nearly half of the team’s 50 points through seven games.

“It’s exciting to be the newbies, but also an important part of the team,” freshman Finn Larson said. “Especially because there are so many of us and we’ve all almost scored now. We’re so close too.”

Larson scored her first collegiate goal with 5:51 to go in the first period, assisted by freshman Abby Steinman. For both Larson and Steinman, it was their first collegiate point.

“I was really excited,” she said. “My entire line has been getting more opportunities than we normally do and we’ve been wanting so bad for our collective line to get a goal, it was a combination of everyone’s effort.”

Now, just two of the team’s 18 skaters have not recorded a point, including 10 of the 11 freshman skaters.

“It’s huge, it shows that we have good leaders, but also did a good job of recruiting players that wanted to come and wanted to get going,” Marino said. ”

Additionally, 11 different players have recorded at least two points so far, a testament to the benefit of added depth to the roster.

“It’s depth, it makes a huge difference for us as a coaching staff,” Marino said. “We can focus on other elements as coaches but it also means that we have depth, we can roll our fourth line out and not worry if they’re going to get scored on or them not producing offense. Everybody goes out there and they do what they’re supposed to do.

After a slow start to multiple games at the start of the season, ASU’s explosive start Friday, coupled with the fast pace for all of Thursday’s game, suggest the team is learning from their mistakes and making in-game adjustments.

“It’s us being able to identify what is important and that one goal, one good period, one win isn’t good enough,” Marino said. “It’s about putting together a full 60 minutes and beyond that, putting in a whole weekend. It shows maturity in our group and I think it’s a huge thing that we’re starting to build that so early.”

“In the locker room in between periods, we’ve been going around and saying something positive about someone else,” Larson said. “We’ll say something they’ve been doing well you noticed and it really boosts my confidence. With that, I feel like I can take criticism easier and it’s helping everyone improve.”

With two wins under their belt in the Missouri Showcase, the Sun Devils look to return to Tempe with a perfect weekend but first have to get past No.2 McKendree University Saturday evening.

“We need to keep up the energy and keep pressuring,” Dupont said. “McKendree is going to be more focused, they’ll know where each other is and they’ll be talking. We need to put pressure on them and not give them time to make those decisions.”

“After this win, we celebrate it and we enjoy it but the first thing is we decide that we need to have a good game tomorrow, right now,” Marino said. “It’s doing the same things that we have been doing. We’re working on our entries, being creative, being aggressive in both zones in front of both nets and that’s what it’s going to come down to. We’re doing the same things we have been on the ice, but mentally deciding right now that we want to win tomorrow.

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