TEMPE – No. 15 Arizona State came into the Icebreaker Tournament Championship struggling to find answers to a key part of hockey, special teams. The Sun Devils (2-2-0) entered Saturday night’s championship game against Alaska Fairbanks (1-3-0) going 2-for-18 on the man-advantage, ranked last among their NCHC counterparts. A stark contrast from just a year ago, when the Sun Devils led the country in power-play goals, going 32-for-108 with a .296 conversion percentage.
However, ASU seemed to have figured out its special teams woes, finding itself 5-for-9 on the power play in its 5-2 win Saturday night. Going over fifty percent on the man-advantage would leave the Sun Devils far ahead of their NCHC best from last season, as their complete turnaround can be attributed to their veteran players stepping up, which head coach Greg Powers asked for after the two losses to No. 5 Penn State.
“You need your vets to step up and lead the group and do great things,” Powers said. “And tonight, really this whole weekend, they did a good job of it.”
One of those veteran players who stepped up Saturday night was one of ASU’s co-captains, Kyle Smolen. After being visibly frustrated in the series loss last weekend, Smolen rose to the occasion, netting his second goal of the season on ASU’s second power-play attempt of the night.
Smolen also led a power-play unit full of young talent, including sophomore forwards Ty Nash and Logan Morrell, sophomore defensemen Sam Court and freshman forward Sam Alfano. A young line can be inconsistent at times, but could also have moments like Saturday, where they had a top performance on special teams.
“We had those two [power-play goals],” senior forward Cruz Lucius said. “But [ASU’s second power-play unit] was even better.”
While the young power-play unit had flashes of success Saturday night, it was the veteran power-play unit featuring Lucius, sophomore forward Cullen Potter, junior forward Sean McGurn, senior forward Bennett Schimek and freshman defenseman Justin Kipkie. The veteran line found themselves led by Lucius, who had himself a third-period hat trick to lead the Sun Devils in their win.
“Some puck luck”, Powers described the stark contrast. “Just getting pucks to the net, simplifying, but I’m really relieved that the power-play stepped up like it did. We still have a lot of work to do on it.”
Getting pucks to the net is exactly what led to ASU extending its lead to a point at which the game was out of reach for Alaska Fairbanks. On the fourth goal, the Sun Devils won the tie-up on the faceoff, as the puck then trickled out to Lucius, who fired on net.
The puck ended up hitting a Nanooks defenseman and found its way into the back of the Alaska net, making the score 4-1 ASU. Almost all of the Sun Devils power-play goals came in a similarly unique fashion. Whether it be the Lucius snipe from the point or his defensive blue line empty net goal, the Sun Devils’ goals were anything but traditional.
“I mean, really, the only conventional power-play we scored was the first one, but Cruz hit a couple shots, and picked his spots.” Powers said.
While their power-play put up dominant numbers in Saturday’s game, Powers still believes the Sun Devils have not reached their peak. Following the tournament win, ASU finds itself back to an even .500, as it will travel to Illinois to take on the Augustana Vikings for a two-game series starting Friday, October 17th.
“We’re going to be a work in progress for a little bit, but it’s always good when you learn while you win,” Powers added.
