Notebook: Solid Goaltending, Greasy Goals and local success guide Sun Devils to first NCHC win

(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)

TEMPE — Arizona State Hockey (4-7-1, 1-3-0) sent all 5,025 people to their feet with a 3-2 win against the Omaha (3-7-0, 1-3-0) as they secured their first-ever win in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

First Conference Win

It took until their fourth game in NCHC play, but the Sun Devils have found themselves in the win column for the first time in a conference. After struggling to find success on the score sheet a weekend ago on the road against Colorado College, the Sun Devils returned home to much of the same story — at least in game one. Game two rendered different results, as they were able to shut down the Mavericks to secure the victory.

“It feels good to get three points, and climb up the standings,” head coach Greg Powers said. “It’s what it’s all about. I think we played a really solid game, and they got rewarded with the result, and so I’m really happy for our players.”

With the win, the Sun Devils now have four total points in the NCHC (one point for a tie and three for a win), putting them at seventh in the standings. Coming into the weekend, they were fifth, but the caveat to that was that Denver had yet to play a conference game. What also hurts the Sun Devils in the standings is Minnesota Duluth sweeping Miami Ohio — meaning it collected six points — and Denver also sweeping North Dakota gives it another six points.

Those sweeps vault the Bulldogs and Pioneers ahead of the Sun Devils, as they are all tied with six points a piece. Even though they got swept, North Dakota also has six points. The new leader in the clubhouse is Western Michigan, with nine points. They defeated Colorado College in overtime in game one and tied in game two.

Strong Goaltending

For only the second time this year, Powers has gone with only one goalie for the weekend. First, it was redshirt junior Gibson Homer against Michigan on Oct. 11-12, and this weekend, it was senior transfer Luke Pavicich. Pavicich turned away 19 or 23 shots in game one in the 4-3 loss, but on Saturday, he turned away 20 of 22 total shots he faced.

“[Pavicich] was good,” Powers said. “He was calm and made a huge save in a flurry in the second and got a win. I’m happy for [Pavicich]. He deserved to win tonight.”

After the weekend’s series, the senior’s numbers remain similar to his previous numbers. His record improves to 2-4-0 from 1-3-0, his save percentage falls slightly from .917 to .907, and his goals-against average falls from 2.27 to 2.35. Homer and Pavicich now have the same goals-against average.

Outshooting Opponents

For the sixth time in a row, the Sun Devils have outshot their opponents; tonight, they outshot the Mavericks 44 to 22. To find the last time ASU was outshot you’d have to go back to game two against Providence where ASU was outshot 38-32.

Powers voiced this week that he felt like they played good hockey against Colorado College, and to his credit, they outshot CC 30 to 21 in game one and 42 to 21 in game two. Then, follow it up this weekend with 43 shots in game one against the Mavericks; the losses have not come with a lack of shots Saturday finally changed that.

“We doubled them up in shots, and we’re defensively very structurally sound right now,” Powers said. “(We’re) probably more structurally sound than we’ve ever been as a program at this level. That’s a recipe for success, now we’ve got to keep going.”

Getting to the Dirty Areas

If you were to take a look at the shot chart after the game on Saturday, a significant theme would jump off the page: all three of the Sun Devils’ goals came from getting in front of the crease and making those dirty plays to score goals, and off of the rebound. They were so similar that all three goals are practically on top of each other on the shot chart.

The first goal came from graduate forward Artem Shlaine after he picked up the rebound from sophomore forward Kyle Smolen right in front of freshman goaltender Kevin Reidler. The second goal came in a similar fashion. Sophomore defenseman Anthony Dowd fired a shot from the point. Smolen tipped it off the pad of Reidler, and it ricocheted right to junior forward Ryan Alexander, who cleaned it up into the back of the net. Lastly, sophomore forward David Hymovitch picked up the rebound off a shot from senior forward Ryan Kirwan.

“We had a lot of really good clean looks that the kid made big saves,” Powers said. “I think that was a really good first start for that kid at this level. But again, you manufacture three goals by doing what we’ve literally practiced and tried to preach for two weeks, and it paid off. It was good to see all three of those guys get rewarded, especially (Hymovitch) there in third and in front of the hometown.

“So we’re happy for them. We’re always happy for our players. It was a really good, hard-fought win after a really, really tough one last night. That was a gut punch for all of us.”

David Hymovitch Success

After only playing in two games last year, the Scottsdale native has now played in all 12 games. He bounced from the fourth line to start the year to the second and third lines now due to injuries. Hymovitch made the jump to the second line for game 10 of the year — the second game vs. Colorado College. He dropped to the third line for game one against Omaha but was back to the second line for game two.

“He’s proven to be incredibly valuable,” Powers said. “His IQ is off the charts. He’s sure-handed. He knows what he’s gonna to do with the puck before he gets it. He’s really good with it off the wall in our D-zone. He’s just, right now, a really reliable guy that is incredibly useful because he’s proven he could play up and down the lineup. With all the injuries that we have, he’s been a huge key to us competing and getting to win tonight”

Hymovitch was responsible for the game-winning goal — his first goal in Mullett Arena — and was awarded the game’s first star. He cracked the score sheet for the first time in the season opener against Air Force with an assist but then went quiet until the second game against Colorado College, where he got his first-ever collegiate goal.

“I’m playing with tremendous players, they’re making it easy on me,” Hymovitch said. “So pretty easy for me right now, just do what I’m told.”