(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
After a momentous offseason that included the addition of 12 new faces to the ice, the Arizona State women’s hockey team now has the roster to be true competitors.
With a complete lineup and a coach eager to start the season off with a win, ASU began their first of a two-game set this weekend Friday night. They headed to AZ Ice Arcadia, home of Grand Canyon University — ASU’s heated rival. With a crucial first game to set the tone for the series, the Sun Devils ultimately fell to GCU in overtime, 3-2.
“It’s a whole different ballgame when you have four lines. When things get tough, you can rotate in other people,”head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “We were able to change the [penalty kill] up, which is new. We’ve never been able to do that before.”
A slow start for ASU was attributed to the nerves and excitement that rattled the new faces of the locker room, according to junior defenseman, Alyssa Ayers.
“The new girls, especially, were super nervous for this game,” Ayers said.
Even for veterans like KC McGinley, the first game of the season is always a wake-up call.
“I think it was 100 percent nerves,” McGinley said. “Even for me, I was a completely different person internally. From the adrenaline I had in the first period to when I finally calmed down. It’s always the first game of the season. I cannot function.”
Besides the slow start, ASU faced a GCU attack that they were ultimately unprepared for.
“[We were] not totally prepared for the speed,” Ellis said. “We need to come out tomorrow and not be complacent and come out for a full 60 minutes.”
There was no first-period spark for the revamped ASU squad as they had just seven shots compared to GCU’s 18, which included a strike by Megan Brodfuehrer that found the back of the net.
After settling down on the ice, ASU was able to find its tempo and balance. The Devils came out into the second period with aggression and the firepower that they lacked in the first. Within the first five minutes of the second period, ASU totaled five shots on goal, just two less than the team’s total in the first period.
Although the Sun Devils failed to score in the second period, Ellis knows that the focus tomorrow needs to be identical to what was displayed in that period.
“The whole energy on the bench, they’re ready to go,” Ellis said. “They have to come out tomorrow … The effort has to be there 100 percent of the time the entire game.”
ASU’s Molly Potter, who did not record any points last season, ended the scoreless drought when the third period hit, as she tied the game at one just a minute and a half into the period.
It was barely six minutes after Potter’s goal when fellow teammate, Alyssa Ayers, decided to join the club and put the Devils on top, 2-1.
“I don’t remember much about it — I blacked out,” Ayers jokingly said.
The third period was a complete change of pace for ASU, led by one key factor, communication.
“In terms of getting that pass on the tape and being able to connect and put that in the net is a huge difference rather than the blind passing that we were doing in the first period,” Ellis said on how ASU was able to orchestrate the third-period goals.
A critical ASU penalty late in the third period on a kneeing minor to Sheridan Gloyd gave GCU the power play they needed to tie the game.
With the game tied after 60 minutes, the Lopes ended thee game quickly, scoring less than two minutes into overti,ee.
“We definitely need to be the first to score,” McGinley said. “We know who we’re facing now, we have no excuses. We know what we need to do.”
ASU goaltender Jordan Nash-Boulden finished the game with 40 saves, a .930 save percentage.
The Sun Devils will face the Lopes again on Saturday and with it, an opportunity for revenge.
“Both teams are improving, so we just have to improve more.” – Lindsey Ellis
