Kjellberg’s OT winner avoids third-period collapse

(Photo: Colorado College Athletics)

When Arizona State and Colorado College met in Colorado Springs for their second series of the season on the last weekend in January, the two teams shared a lot of parallels. The two squads were separated by two spots in the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI) and two points in the NCHC standings, and were in need of a late season push, making the series imperative for both teams.

With just a fistful of series left in the regular season, the Sun Devils dropped outside of the NPI’s top 30 for the first time since early December, needing a late charge in order to make a push towards the NCAA Tournament and home ice for the NCHC playoffs.

ASU (13-13-1, 6-8-1 NCHC) has struggled to close games, leading to several blown leads on the season, but has also shown incredible resilience throughout its 2025-26 campaign. Both ends of that spectrum were on display in the Maroon and Gold’s 6-5 overtime win over Colorado College (10-12-3, 4-8-3 NCHC) on Friday.

The Sun Devils’ fatal flaw all season has been their ability to close in the third period, but that task seemed a little easier to handle on Friday, as ASU entered the final frame with a 5-2 advantage.

Just 2 minutes, 41 seconds into the final period, Tiger’s freshman forward Tomas Mrsic beat senior goaltender Connor Hasley on the glove side, before scoring his second of the game on a Tiger’s two-man advantage to cut the lead to one. Freshman defenseman Mats Lindgren then potted another power play goal to bring the duel back to where it started, all square.

ASU was dominated in the third period, getting outshot 15-2, mustering no offensive opportunities — a theme that has been present throughout its season. ASU head coach Greg Powers has harped on managing games all season long, yet it continues to be a hurdle that it has been unable to overcome.

A similar problem was present in last week’s series against then-No. 4 North Dakota. Even with two star forwards in sophomore Cullen Potter and freshman Jack Beck out of the lineup, there has been no lack of offensive output for the Maroon and Gold. The problems have come on the defensive end.

ASU has allowed 5.6 goals on average in its last three games, conceding 17 tallies in that same stretch — a defensive pace that would place it dead last in goals allowed by over a goal.

The Sun Devils themselves have scored 13 times in those same three games, a 4.3 goal average that would be the second-best in the country. Depth scoring has been a problem, but ten unique goal scores have contributed since the first game of the North Dakota series.

While ASU’s third-period woes raise reason for concern as its season enters crunch time, its resilience in the face of adversity ultimately prevailed in Friday night’s affair. Although the Sun Devils planted themselves in the driver’s seat with a two-goal lead, the Tigers would not go away.

Two goals in the first two minutes of the second period from Colorado College had the Sun Devils on ropes, putting all of the momentum into the hands of the Tigers. However, ASU did not wither away, as freshman forward Sam Alfano netted a pair of goals to give them the lead, followed by a tally from freshman forward Ty Nash, capping off a three-goal middle frame.

Three out of ASU’s six goals on Friday came on the power play, a perfect three-for-three on the night. With Potter and Beck both key pieces on the power play, question marks surrounded its main advantage, but it has not skipped a beat without two of its cornerstones. After Friday, six out of the Sun Devils last eight marks have come when they are one man up, spearheading almost all of their offense.

The Maroon and Gold have labored when the momentum of games has flipped, often letting games slip from their grasp. The second period bounce back outlined a level of resilience that has been hard to come by — last seen in the four straight goals they scored in their 4-3 overtime win over Ohio State.

Additionally, that same series against Ohio State marks the only weekend the Sun Devils have swept an opponent. It was also the last time it won a series game on a Friday, with ASU claiming wins on seven out of its last eight Saturdays. Before last Saturday’s loss to North Dakota, it hadn’t come up short on a Saturday since playing Colorado College on Nov. 8.

With only five series left before the playoffs, every win becomes increasingly more important for the Sun Devils, especially against teams that are ranked lower in the NPI. With two top teams in No. 3 Western Michigan and No. 11 Denver left on the schedule, ASU has to stack wins and try to sweep teams to climb the NPI and charge for home ice advantage in the NCHC playoffs.

Last weekend’s series marked the first series loss for ASU since its first series against Colorado College and the first series sweep since Oct. 18 against Augustana. Saturday’s series finale game in Colorado Springs marks an important opportunity for the Sun Devils to string together consecutive wins and try to build up momentum as the postseason door begins to creak open.