(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — Every fan repping the maroon and gold rose to their feet as freshman forward Cullen Potter charged toward the net on a breakaway a minute into overtime. The only thing standing between the Sun Devils and a sweep of the No. 3 team in the country was freshman goaltender Hampton Slukynsky who took Potter’s potential game-winner and buried it into the ice.
Two minutes later, those same spectators watched freshman forward Liro Hakkarainen swipe the puck away from graduate forward Lukas Sillinger and capitalize on his breakaway opportunity to score the overtime goal for Western Michigan.
No. 12 Arizona State (18-12-2, 13-8-1 NCHC) took No. 3 Western Michigan (22-6-1, 15-3-1 NCHC) to the brink in another dogfight between the NCHC frontrunners, but ultimately had to settle for a series split after losing 4-3 in overtime at Mullett Arena Saturday night.
“It was just a slugfest both ways, and they got the last punch unfortunately in overtime,” head coach Greg Powers said.
Outside of an opportunity to continue making up ground in the rankings and standings, the series finale also carried the theme of senior night. Although not quite a send-off since ASU will most likely play more home games during the NCHC playoffs, the home crowd honored the contributions the team’s four seniors and six graduates have made to the program since their arrival.
“Some of these guys were here when (Mullett Arena) wasn’t even a thing,” sophomore Kyle Smolen said. “These guys paved the way for us to be able to do what we do on a daily basis and it doesn’t go forgotten.”
ASU for the second-straight game jumped out in front early on a quick wrist shot near the blue line from Smolen that flew past Slukynsky to take a 1-0 lead five minutes into the first period. The next 16 minutes saw the Sun Devils and Broncos relentlessly fend off the other’s attacks, drawing near even in shot totals and wins in faceoff dots.
The first minute of the second period saw Western Michigan eventually break through for a counterpunch in the form of freshman forward Zach Nehring tapping the puck past the right side of senior goaltender Luke Pavicich for an equalizing goal.
Once again, the match turned into a dead heat as 20 straight shots were denied by the men in net and both teams squandered a chance on the man advantage. Freshman defenseman Sam Court held the puck behind ASU’s net before sailing a pass to mid-ice where graduate forward Artem Shlaine immediately pushed the puck out in front of him.
There to intercept was freshman forward Cullen Potter who juked out a defender with his handling and then fired a wrist shot for his first goal in eight games played. After junior defenseman Zack Sharp helped the Broncos once again tie the game fresh out of intermission, Potter made it two on the night on a put-back goal into the left corner of the net that gave ASU a 4-3 lead with fifteen minutes remaining.
“He was unbelievable,” Powers said. “He was our best player all weekend. I thought he was gonna get a third there in overtime when he broke loose and (Slukynsky) made a hell of a save.”
One crucial mistake at the seven-minute mark would prove to be the Sun Devils undoing in the end. Junior defenseman Tucker Ness attempted to move the puck out of ASU’s zone by making a pass to sophomore forward Cole Gordon. The puck snuck past Gordon and hit the stick of forward Grant Slukynsky who set the stage for junior Liam Valente to score a rebound goal that eventually forced the affair into overtime.
Just like ASU’s four other extra-period losses, the team had chances to flip the result but couldn’t capitalize in the moment. On top of Potter’s failed breakaway, sophomore forward Alex Bump snapped a wrist shot that bounced off the crossbar and was almost returned the other way by senior forward Ryan Kirwan. Hampton Slukynsky proved why he had the best save percentage in the NCHC with three massive saves that gave his team enough time to finish the job.
“Last night, we threw the last punch that knocked them out,” Powers said. “Tonight, they got a bounce in overtime and the kid buried it. Hell of a move and it’s like how our overtimes have gone. We had two really good chances to win the game and the goalie made some really good saves.”
The Sun Devils’ penalty kill unit was a major reason why they were able to stay neck and neck with Western Michigan in both games. A 2-for-2 performance on Friday was topped by shutting down the fifth-ranked power play unit three separate times.
However, ASU’s power play didn’t fare much better. Western Michigan’s second-ranked penalty kill held the second-ranked power play to three total shots when on the man advantage twice.
“We didn’t get a look at it in the first game so coming in cold in the second game, it’s tough,” Smolen said. “I think we were a touch away, we were a play away from setting up and I think once we get set up, we’re one of the best power plays in the country to deal with. So I think we got to look at the film and we’ve just got to get back to work.”
Despite winning in regulation on Friday and forcing a split with the third-best team in the country, Arizona State dropped down to 16th in the PairWise Rankings following the loss. The Sun Devils now have 44 points in conference play and technically still have a shot at the NCHC regular season title since the Broncos needed to win two regulation games to do so this weekend.
The final two-game series of the regular season at Omaha next weekend now enters must-win territory. ASU is running out of time to make its case that it deserves an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament rather than having the NCHC Tournament decide everything.
“I think you win in regulation, we’re probably 12th right now,” Powers said. “But again, it’s so minuscule right now. We’re right there. We just have to have to win games, and whether or not we won or lost tonight, we need to go to Omaha and win games. So we still have to go there and just focus on what’s in front of us, we have a lot of hockey in front of us.”
