(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — The No. 19 Sun Devils’ story to begin their season was that they were playing good hockey but were just not getting the results they wanted. It appeared ASU could not get any bounces to go its way. But the script has flipped, and sophomore forward Kyle Smolen’s overtime-winning goal on Saturday night proves it.
Graduate defenseman Noah Beck grinded in the corner against a pair of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs’ defenders for a puck battle and saw Smolen flying towards the net as he was fresh off the bench. Beck’s pass got blocked by Bulldogs sophomore defenseman Aaron Pionk. The blocked pass went straight to the net, but junior goaltender Zach Sandy missed the puck with his stick and was forced to make a pad save. That produced a rebound right in front of the crease for Smolen to bury it to end the game.
The Sun Devils (8-7-1, 5-3) got the puck luck they were looking for in their 3-2 overtime win over the Bulldogs (5-10, 2-6) to complete the series sweep and extend their winning streak to five games as they now head into the winter break.
“I thought we were really bad tonight,” head coach Greg Powers said. “I thought we were just disjointed and lacked execution and intensity. But our guys found a way, our goalie held us in it, and they grinded out a nice gutty win.”
The Sun Devils as a whole this weekend did not play their best hockey. In the two-game series, ASU was outshot 73-56 yet was still able to squeak out a pair of victories.
“It goes to show what this team is capable of,” Smolen said. “The best teams in the world find ways to win no matter what, even when they’re not playing good and it just shows that this group is special.”
A large part in ASU’s sweep this weekend was senior goaltender Luke Pavicich’s play. Pavicich stopped 68 of 73 shots faced in the series including 33 of 35 Saturday night. Throughout the game, Pavicich was forced to make numerous sprawling saves to keep the Sun Devils in it.
“My mentality is next shot every single time, whether I let in a goal or make a save, cover the puck for a whistle,” Pavicich said. “As a goalie, you’re just by yourself in net, so it’s a lot of mental game, and you’ve just got to stay dialed.”
Pavicich kept busy the whole night but was especially under siege at the start of the game. Just barely over a minute into the first, graduate forward Ty Jackson took a slashing penalty and the Bulldogs came out of the gate flying. Minnesota-Duluth was unable to convert on the power play, but it built sustained pressure in ASU’s zone and rattled off numerous scoring chances. By the end of the first period, shots were 13-6 in favor of the Bulldogs, but Pavicich held strong and kept things scoreless.
“We weren’t doing what we normally do,” Smolen said. “We’re dogs on a bone every night and tonight we were kind of more passive and we were worried about things we shouldn’t have been worried about.”
The Sun Devils got back on track in the second period, playing a more even game where neither team held possession for long. A successful penalty kill for the Sun Devils provided some momentum and ASU picked up the pace, leading to the game’s first goal.
With just over four minutes left in the second period, Ty Jackson carried the puck behind the net and sent a pass in front to connect with his twin brother, graduate forward Dylan Jackson, who quickly fired it past Sandy to open the scoring.
The third period proved to be a wild one, and it started when the Bulldogs tied the game just over five minutes into the period. Bulldogs freshman Max Plante tied the game by firing a shot into an open net because Pavicich was knocked out of the goal crease by a falling Bulldog that senior Ty Murchison hit into Pavicich. The Sun Devils challenged the goal for goaltender interference but after a challenge that lasted a couple of minutes, the call on the ice stood for a good goal.
A few moments later, ASU had the Bulldogs hemmed in its own zone when freshman defenseman Sam Court shot one from the top of the right circle. Sandy could not field it cleanly and then there was a battle in the crease for the loose puck. Senior forward Ryan Kirwan came out victorious and jammed in the loose puck to give the Sun Devils a 2-1 lead.
The lead was short-lived however, because with just under six minutes to play in regulation, Bulldogs senior defenseman Luke Bast sent in a shot from the blue line that was deflected past Pavicich by Bulldogs freshman forward Zam Plante to tie the game at 2-2.
Things got dicey at the end of the period as Bulldogs junior forward Jack Smith got called for hooking with about four and a half minutes to go. The ASU power play stayed in the Bulldogs’ zone and put pressure on the Bulldogs penalty kill. In the dying seconds of the power play, Bulldogs junior Joey Pierce fell on top of the puck and did not make an effort to get up, resulting in a five-on-three power play for ASU for three seconds.
Because Pierce was laying on the puck for a while without a whistle blown, the Sun Devil power play unit tried prying Pierce off the puck with their sticks, leading to the Bulldogs challenging the play for a major for spearing. After review, the officiating crew did not see anything worth a major penalty and so the Sun Devils remained on the power play.
The Sun Devils were unable to convert on their power play, but with 23 seconds left in regulation, a loose puck in the Bulldogs crease was put in the back of the net by Dylan Jackson and as ASU was celebrating the would-be go-ahead goal, the referees waived off the goal. After a few minutes of discussion with the officiating crew and the ASU bench, the call on the ice was that it was blown dead before the goal was scored, forcing the game to go to overtime.
With just 18 seconds left into overtime, the puck luck was on the Sun Devils side as Smolen delivered the game-winner.
“I know (Noah) Beck was ragging it down low a bit and they were kind of tired and I was screaming, and he just kind of threw it out and he missed the paddle, and it came right out to me and instincts take over at that point to shoot,” Smolen said.
This win puts the Sun Devils into sole possession of second place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings heading into the winter break.
“We struggled at the beginning of the season finding ways to win games, and now we’re finding ways to keep winning games,” Pavicich said. “It’s a great feeling to go in for a break and have that moment.”
