(Photo: Allyson Cummings/WCSN)
On Monday night, Arizona State struggled to pull away from Iowa State until the second half of the third period. On Tuesday, the Devils did not waste any time before taking an advantage over the Cyclones. The Sun Devils took down the Cyclones 3-0 on the strength of three first period goals and freshman goaltender Robert Levin’s fourth shutout of the season.
There’s an old sports adage that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. In the first period, Arizona State’s defensemen wondered why whoever said that had to differentiate. Within thirty seconds in the middle of the first period, freshmen blue liners Drew Newmeyer and Jarrod Levos each ripped twine, putting the Sun Devils up 2-0.
Newmeyer’s goal came first, on a backhand wrister that somehow managed to find its way through the myriad of bodies in front of the net, to put the team up one. Then, on a rush into the offensive zone, Liam Norris found Levos on a cross-ice pass to set up a beautiful one-timer.
“Every game every player is out there doing their job,” Levin said after the game. “Levos scored a great goal and got us up early, blocked pucks, the defense kept it in control.”
Freshman forward Ryan Ostertag, fresh off his heroics in game one against the Cyclones, continued his hot streak on Tuesday. With about a minute and a half left in the first period, Ostertag wristed a shot from the short side over the shoulder of Cyclone goalie Matthew Cooper to bring the lead to three goals, marking the end of Cooper’s night.
To start the second frame, Iowa State coach Alan Murdoch made a change between the pipes, opting for junior net minder Scott Ismond. Ismond matched the Sun Devils’ starter, freshman Robert Levin, shot for shot in the second period, keeping the ASU advantage at three goals through forty minutes.
The third period went scoreless as well, clinching a shutout for Levin. The clean sheet is the freshman’s fourth on the season, tying him with four others for the lead in the ACHA.
“He’s the real deal,” Coach Greg Powers said after the game.
“Everyone’s been keeping it simple for me,” Levin said. “Our guys did a good job of keeping guys to the outside and letting me see pucks.”
The game was the final home game for the Sun Devils of 2013 and the team has just two more games before the calendar turns over. On December 6th and 7th, Arizona State will travel down to Tucson to take on the University of Arizona Wildcats.
