(Photo: Austin Hurst/WCSN)
TEMPE — When sophomore forward Kieran Cebrian scored a goal with eight minutes left in the third period to extend No. 6 Denver’s lead to two, an undeniable sense of déjà vu swept through Mullett Arena.
The night before, No. 12 Arizona State clawed its way back from a two goal deficit and eventually sending the game into overtime where the team ultimately fell short. With one goal by graduate forward Lukas Sillinger followed by junior forward Bennett Schimek narrowly getting the puck over the line, the Sun Devils pushed the Pioneers to an extra period once again.
This time though, Schimek outmaneuvering three defenders to bury the game-winner helped ASU return the favor for a much-needed victory in an instant classic.
Arizona State (17-10-1, 12-6 NCHC) finished what it had started Friday night, overcoming being down two goals late in the third period to force overtime before prevailing on Schimek’s goal to win 6-5 and force a home series split against Denver (20-7-1, 9-6-1 NCHC).
“I think that the result tonight was deserving,” head coach Greg Powers said. “We deserved to win this game. I thought we were the better team, and credit to them, they were really opportunistic and made the most of the opportunities when they got them. Their goalie was good. Our guys found a way.”
ASU’s offensive gameplan coming into the game revolved around peppering Denver senior goaltender Matt Davis with as many shots as possible. The result was a season-high shot total of 55, helping the Sun Devils maintain consistent pressure no matter the score and wear down the Pioneers’ netminder in the final minutes.
“We wanted to throw pucks and bodies at them and create second chance opportunities that we felt like we could get a few and we did,” Powers said.
In a bizarre twist, the Sun Devils’ special teams transformed from their greatest strength to a near non-factor. ASU, the second-ranked power play in the country, went 0-for-3 on the man advantage throughout the entire game.
The penalty kill unit, coming off a flawless performance on Friday, allowed the top-ranked power play to score two goals on the man advantage out of four chances. This included a disastrous chain of events where senior forward Ryan Kirwan taking a slashing penalty two seconds into a power play led to sophomore forward Sam Harris scoring a hat trick goal that gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead.
“They got that much skill and they’re well-coached because they’re gonna get theirs and you just gotta stay up boxing them,” Powers said. “But the kill stepped up and got us a big one there at the end of the second and settled in.”
When the team needed it most, Arizona State’s veteran leaders helped lead the way with game-changing performances. Sillinger, tied for second on the team in individual points, notched two goals including a one-timer to offer a near-immediate response to Cebrian doubling Denver’s advantage.
The graduate forward has recorded ten points in the last 18 games and is now on a streak of managing at least one point in the last five contests.
“It feels really good, but at the end of the day, we’re winning hockey games,” Sillinger said. “That’s our end goal, and that’s what we came here to do.”
In the end, the game came down to the stick of Schimek. The junior forward who hadn’t scored multiple goals in a game since the season opener at Air Force first struck with a goal that almost slipped through the cracks. With a little over six minutes to go, Schimek just barely poked a rebound past the legs of Harris and over the blue line. However, play continued until further review moments later confirmed the score that tied the game at five apiece.
Once in overtime, all it took was a single shot. Schimek handled the puck up center ice, breezed past two Denver defenders and slipped one through Davis’ five-hole to win it.
“(Junior forward) Cruz (Lucius), kind of the unsung hero there, (dragged) two guys low,” Schimek said. “So then he made a nice little drop pass to me. Both of their defenders were taking their respective guys and I recognized that. Once I got in on the breakaway, I knew I was gonna go find a goal just because that’s what I did back in Denver.”
Arizona State still sits in second place in the NCHC standings; three points behind No. 4 Western Michigan and three points ahead of Omaha. Both teams are included in the Sun Devils’ final three regular season series. Not to mention, the NCHC Tournament and potentially the Frozen Faceoff are a little over a month away.
While only ending up with a series split, ASU fighting back to win in overtime is critical in the pursuit of climbing the PairWise Rankings and chasing after a conference title.
“We want from the start of the year, having a goal of hosting a playoff series, to now winning our league,” Powers said. “And our guys, they want to win this league and they believe that we can and we are good enough. We played such a tough schedule and so many great programs this year. There’s just nobody that we will play moving forward that our guys don’t believe that we can’t genuinely beat.”
