(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)
TEMPE — Arizona State sophomore forward Cullen Potter found himself in the slot with just under a minute to play in regulation on Friday night. A feed from senior forward Cruz Lucius set up Potter to put the puck past Alaska Anchorage sophomore goalie Tyler Krivtsov.
As “Hey Baby” echoed through the arena, hats from fans rained onto the ice, celebrating the Potter hat-trick, capping off the program’s 50th win at Mullet Arena.
The 7-2 victory from the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-10-1, 4-5-1 NCHC) was a showcase of offensive chemistry against the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (3-12-0). Potter earned four points Friday night with the assistance of his linemate Lucius.
“I’m happy for [Potter] because he’s obviously on a tear right now after a pretty slow start offensively,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “We knew it would come, and he’s driving it for us.”
“I think I’ve just been focusing on getting the puck off really fast,” Potter said. “[Lucius] has helped a little bit by setting me up.”
Lucius was the first assist on all of Potter’s goals, with the duo being a good representation of the puck movement from ASU. With his four-point night, Lucius tied Minnesota Duluth’s Max Plante with 30 points to lead the NCAA, with Lucius and Potter’s linemate, senior forward Bennett Schimek, not far behind with 29.
With 8:55 remaining in the third period, Lucius sent the puck through two Alaska defenders down low, allowing Potter to net a catch-and-shoot in the right circle.
Another highlight-worthy assist happened earlier in the third from sophomore forward Ty Nash, as he sent the puck diagonally down the ice from the nearside point to junior forward Kyler Smolen. Smolen netted his lone goal for the night with a tap-in, as ASU’s offense was clicking on all cylinders, no matter who was on the ice.
“I think we’ve established what our standard needs to be for this team to be successful,” Powers said. “It’s establishing a forecheck and it’s getting bodies to the net. You can’t do those things without a physical mindset.”
In their last four games, the Sun Devils scored at least five goals, two of which came against top-10 teams. ASU remained relentless on both ends of the puck, having doubled the Seawolves’ shot total early in the third and ending with a 19-shot advantage.
With the Sun Devils crashing the slot and getting good looks up close, their pressure has turned into scoring opportunities, which they’ve cashed in on.
“We’re getting to the net,” Powers said. “We’ve bought into not being a perimeter team… You need to turn those grade C’s and grade B’s into grade A’s, and you do that with a net-front presence.”
There was a strong presence from ASU away from the net-front as well.
Just a mere 13 seconds into the game, sophomore forward Logan Morrell took a minor boarding penalty, leading to a small tie-up altercation and a power play goal for Alaska 30 seconds later.
With 19:47 remaining in the second period, the same timestamp from the first period, a Morrell slashing minor led to a scuffle in front of the Sun Devils’ net. The extracurriculars continued, as sophomore forward Noah Powell, senior forward Conor Cole and sophomore forward Ryan Johnson skated to the box for roughing penalties.
That physicality shone through to Powers, even if he was disappointed in their production elsewhere.
“I thought Morrell’s line was our worst line,” Powers said. “I thought that they were physical, but we need more out of them if we’re going to go on a run here, and they know that.”
Between the Lucius line’s offensive production and the physicality from others, Powers has recognized the team’s next man up mentality. Freshman forward Jack Beck has missed the last five games, while junior forward Sean McGurn and junior defenseman Anthony Dowd have watched from the sidelines for three straight games.
With key players missing time, the extra opportunities have been grabbed by several players, with Nash leading the way Friday night. After entering the game with three points, Nash doubled his season total Friday night, scoring a pair of goals to go along with an assist.
“We still have some really good players that are out,” Powers said. “The guys are stepping up. Johnny Waldron was really good tonight. Obviously, Nasher was awesome. But you have a good player like Jack Beck out. McGurn was out against Dartmouth and he was out tonight, probably out tomorrow. Dowder has been out since the second Duluth game. Smolen was out the second Duluth game. We’re piecing lineups together.”
The appreciation for more guys stepping up is noticed by others on the team as well. Nash has seen more production from the ASU young guns as the season has continued into the new calendar year. Though the Sun Devils lost a pair of CHL freshmen in forward Justin Cloutier and defenseman Austin Zemlak, the other nine have taken advantage of their opportunities.
“The freshmen are a massive part of our team,” Nash said. “We got a lot of them, so they need to step in and take this league by storm real quick.”
The Sun Devils will play for the Desert Hockey Classic trophy against Air Force on Saturday, a team that is coming off a shocking 8-2 win over Michigan Tech. The Falcons are well familiar with ASU, as the two teams split their season-opening series a year ago up in Colorado Springs, a loss that potentially could have kept the Sun Devils out of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s just another opportunity to win a trophy in front of our fans,” Powers said. “That’s the biggest thing, but we’re ready for whoever we face. We’ve already been through it.”
To say ASU has already been through it would be an understatement. The Sun Devils have the toughest strength of schedule in the country, including road series against No. 4 North Dakota, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, No. 6 Denver and No. 9 Dartmouth. ASU split every series, boosting their NPI from the mid 40s in November to 26th, inserting them back in the race for the postseason.
“Our guys are battle tested, and they’re weathered because of what they’ve been through,” Powers said. “There’s a lot of hope in that room right now, and a lot of belief, a lot of belief.”
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