(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
The scoreboard at Baxter Arena read 1:31 left to play in the third period. Down one goal and with significant postseason implications hanging in the balance, it was truly now or never for the Sun Devils.
After coming away with the puck at the face off dot to the right of Omaha’s net, graduate defenseman Noah Beck put up a shot that bounced off of freshman goaltender Kevin Reidler, hung up in the air for a few seconds before being tipped in by graduate forward Lukas Sillinger.
However, ASU hardly had a chance to celebrate the equalizing goal as the play immediately went under review and was eventually overturned due to Sillinger high-sticking Reidler. An empty-net goal from graduate forward Brady Risk 90 seconds later confirmed that the Sun Devils had just let their chance to head into the NCHC Tournament with momentum slip away.
No. 12 (19-13-2, 14-9-1 NCHC) Arizona State dropped its regular season finale and splits its road series against Omaha (17-14-1, 13-8-1, NCHC) after strong play in the first two periods was undone by a third period free fall.
Special teams were a defining factor for the second straight game with the Sun Devils coming away with mixed results. ASU’s penalty kill unit turned in an outstanding performance, killing off each of the Mavericks’ five opportunities on the man advantage.
The team’s execution on the power play also appeared better than ever after senior forward Ryan Kirwan cashed in for a one-timer goal late in the first and a score off a deflection during the second to give the Sun Devils a 2-1 lead. That was until deep in the third period when the country’s third-best unit put up two shots on goal and failed to convert on a two-minute chance.
Kirwan’s two power play goals quieted down a sold-out crowd of 7,802 taking part in senior night festivities during Omaha’s final home game of the regular season. The white-out in the stands sat and watched ASU outshoot Omaha 39-27 in the first two periods while junior goaltender Gibson Homer made up for letting up a goal after a minute of play with 16 straight saves.
Arizona State held the game in the palm of its hand and just needed to keep its foot on the gas for the game’s final 13 minutes. Unbeknownst to them, Reidler saw to it that the Sun Devils had another thing coming. Out of the freshman netminder’s 40 total saves, he made 20 in a row after Kirwan’s second power play goal early in the second period to finish with an unreal .952 save percentage. Once ASU’s scoring dried up, Omaha pivoted and went on the attack.
When freshman defenseman Marcus Broberg pushed the puck to the end boards of ASU’s zone, Homer attempted to make a pass to either of the two defensemen at his side. Broberg instead intercepted and passed the puck to senior forward Zach Urdahl whose shot was blocked then rebounded for a game-tying goal by graduate forward Jimmy Glynn.
Not even a minute later, both teams found themselves in a 4-on-4 following two roughing penalties being given out for a minor scuffle breaking out. Graduate defenseman Nolan Krenzen skated untouched up to the left face off dot where he fired a quick wrister that forced junior defenseman Griffin Ludtke to dive over Homer to put in the net, giving the Mavericks the lead back.
Reidler’s heroics in between the pipes along with an empty netter at the tail end of the game ensured a sour ending for an otherwise remarkable regular season for the Sun Devils.
After No. 4 Western Michigan officially clinched the Penrose Cup on Friday, ASU can only finish as high as second place in the NCHC standings. The Sun Devils currently occupy that spot with 47 points while Omaha overtakes No. 6 Denver for third place with 41 points. Denver’s loss to St. Cloud State on Saturday leaves the Mavericks as the only team that could potentially overtake ASU for second place. If Omaha picks up six points by sweeping North Dakota on the road next weekend, both teams would finish with 47 points and require tiebreakers to determine who gets the higher seed.
With an upcoming bye week, all the Sun Devils can do is sit and watch while the regular season comes to a close. The NCHC Tournament begins on March 14 and is guaranteed to have a best-of-three quarterfinal series take place at Mullett Arena thanks to ASU’s win over Omaha on Friday. Arizona State still remains at No. 16 in the PairWise Rankings after the series split, all but guaranteeing that the Sun Devils’ only path to the NCAA tournament will be by winning the in-conference tournament in year one.
