Sun Devils falter late, lose to No. 8 Colorado College in overtime

(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)

Greg Powers has been with ASU at almost every stage of its journey as a college hockey program. A four-year goaltender for the Sun Devils from 1995-99, the Indianapolis native was a two-time All-American at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) level and returned to his alma mater as a coach in 2008. Over the next 16 years, Powers helped lead the Sun Devils to an ACHA National Championship in 2014 before the program made the jump to the NCAA in 2015-16.

Now in his ninth season as head coach, he was instrumental in the construction of the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena and ASU’s invitation to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), which ended a near-decade-long stretch of being an independent program.

For the final 12 minutes in the third period on Friday with ASU holding a 3-2 lead over No. 8 Colorado College, Powers experiencing yet another storybook moment, this time in his team’s NCHC debut, looked increasingly imminent. But the Tigers (7-0) showed the new kids on the block what playing in the “SEC of college hockey” will entail, as they tied the game with under a minute to play before cashing in during overtime to steal a 4-3 win from the Sun Devils (3-4-2).

Since the loss came in NCHC play, ASU will still receive a pity point because it lost in overtime, while Colorado College will come away with two.

While the Sun Devils held a late lead, it appeared Colorado College was on its way to a dominant win from the game’s onset, cashing in on any opportunity that came its way. Not even two-and-a-half minutes into the contest, sophomore forward and Colorado native Cole Gordon laid a dangerous cross-check on freshman forward Ryan Koering, who was falling to the ice. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to convert.

With 45 seconds remaining on the man advantage, sophomore defenseman Max Burkholder stepped into a one-timer that whizzed by junior goaltender Gibson Homer and gave Colorado College a 1-0 lead. Aside from that power-play goal allowed, ASU had a solid day on special teams, as it went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off the only other penalty it took.

Perhaps ASU’s best scoring chance of a conservative opening period came with nearly seven minutes left when freshman forward Cullen Potter, who was in the corner of the offensive zone, found graduate forward Artem Shlaine sitting virtually unattended in the slot just above the Colorado College net. However, Potter’s pass was a bit too hot to handle, and the Tigers quickly turned defense into offense as sophomore forward Bret Link peppered Homer with a shot that produced a perfect rebound for fellow sophomore Klavs Veinbergs — one he buried with no hesitation.

Through most of the first period, there was a clear difference between the two teams: Colorado College capitalized on its chances and ASU didn’t. However, that changed almost in an instant.

It didn’t seem like the Sun Devils would be within a goal when the horn sounded to end the opening frame, but junior forward Ryan Alexander had other ideas. After receiving a broken-up pass from graduate forward Benji Eckerle, Alexander threw the puck back toward the crease. But it never made it across; the puck bounced off Tigers freshman defenseman Fisher Scott’s body and into the net. In the dying moments of the first, ASU was within one.

That goal proved all the Sun Devils needed, coming out of the intermission with a reinvigorated fire — not to mention they did it without junior forward Bennett Schimek, who exited the game after appearing to sustain an injury halfway through the first period. During the second, ASU outshot Colorado College, 14-4, and even tied the game about halfway through.

As he was skating backward toward the wall, senior forward Ty Jackson found graduate defenseman Noah Beck sneaking into the slot. That drew the attention of the defense, leaving senior forward Dylan Jackson wide open at the side of the net for an easy tap-in. Beck wasn’t content with just an assist, though, potting a one-timer that two-time NCHC Goaltender of the Week Kaidan Mbereko couldn’t stop.

Through the waning stages of the second and most of the third, Colorado College generated its fair share of chances but was unable to solve Homer. The Tigers’ best opportunity came with 7:30 to play in the middle frame when graduate forward Tyler Coffey found himself on a 2-on-1. Instead of passing, he toe-dragged past Anthony Dowd and tried to beat Homer on his forehand but shot the puck just wide, nearly scoring a highlight-reel goal.

However, Colorado College did get that much-needed goal, waiting until the final minute to even the score. With the Tigers pressuring in the offensive zone, graduate defenseman Ty Gallagher hit senior forward Stanely Cooley with a hard pass that Cooley one-timed above Homer’s right shoulder to tie the game with 57 seconds remaining in the game.

Three-on-three overtime is usually all it takes to determine a winner — the amount of open ice allows for several odd-man rushes, making possession a premium. Both teams had their respective scoring chances, but Colorado College cashed in not even halfway through the five-minute frame. Sophomore forward Zaccharya Wisdom took the puck coast-to-coast on a two-on-one and fired a wrister that Homer got a piece of, but it wasn’t enough. The biscuit bounced across the goal line, and the Tigers had sealed the come-from-behind victory.

ASU will fight for a series split tomorrow evening with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m. MST.