AMHERST, Mass. – The brooms were brought out for the first time this season, as the men's hockey team rallied to win 4-1 over Massachusetts for their first sweep of the season. The victory also becomes the third-straight win – all on the road this week – which is the longest in the program's young history.
For the second night in a row, senior goaltender Robert Levin stymied the Minutemen (4-12-2) with 23 saves on 24 shots.
"First of all, we got incredibly good goaltending – Rob was just solid all weekend and the guys fed off that," said head coach Greg Powers. "They really responded to how well he played and it was great to see. From the net out, it was a good, solid effort."
Despite a 1-0 deficit early in the second period, the Devils (7-13-0) climbed out of it with three goals in the final five minutes of the frame.
"We got down tonight 1-0 just like we did against RPI and Colgate," said Powers. "In both of those games we couldn't find a way to win, but tonight they dug deep and found a way. What I love about this team is that they're learning from past experiences and building off of things that aren't going our way to get better. It's a really good sign."
The power play helped ASU knot it up at 15:06, as sophomore defenseman Nicholas Gushue netted his fourth goal of the season – surpassing his season total from his freshman year – with a blast from the right circle. Redshirt junior Wade Murphy earned an assist on the goal, extending his point-per-game streak to five.
Just over four minutes later, the point streak was also extended to five games for redshirt sophomore Louie Rowe, as he cleaned up the garbage off of a shot from freshman defenseman Jakob Stridsberg. The goal became his third goal and sixth point in the month of December.
Before anyone could catch their breath, freshman forward Riley Simpson netted the first goal of his college career 12 seconds later on a beautiful redirect off the shot of redshirt sophomore Dylan Hollman.
For good measure, freshman Brett Gruber tacked on the fourth of the game and third of his rookie season on a 2-on-1 rush with a snipe passed fellow Green Bay native and UMass goalie Ryan Wischow. Redshirt junior David Norris earned his second assist of the game on the goal, making it his fourth point – a goal in each of the last two games – on the three-game road trip.
On special teams, ASU continued their success on the penalty kill, going 2-for-2 on the night and 9-for-10 during the three-game trip. The Devils finished 2-for-7 on the power play.
"We thought we could come here and have a winning record on this trip," said Powers. "That internally was our goal. We felt if we got the first two, we would get three. We're taking it game-by-game. The guys earned a nice holiday break before we come back for the Desert Hockey Classic. We'll be looking to win it."
The Sun Devils will return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 against Brown at the 2nd Annual Desert Hockey Classic in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Prescott Valley Events Center, following the 4 p.m. game between St. Cloud State and UCONN.
Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com and one ticket earns admission to both games on same day.
For the second night in a row, senior goaltender Robert Levin stymied the Minutemen (4-12-2) with 23 saves on 24 shots.
"First of all, we got incredibly good goaltending – Rob was just solid all weekend and the guys fed off that," said head coach Greg Powers. "They really responded to how well he played and it was great to see. From the net out, it was a good, solid effort."
Despite a 1-0 deficit early in the second period, the Devils (7-13-0) climbed out of it with three goals in the final five minutes of the frame.
"We got down tonight 1-0 just like we did against RPI and Colgate," said Powers. "In both of those games we couldn't find a way to win, but tonight they dug deep and found a way. What I love about this team is that they're learning from past experiences and building off of things that aren't going our way to get better. It's a really good sign."
The power play helped ASU knot it up at 15:06, as sophomore defenseman Nicholas Gushue netted his fourth goal of the season – surpassing his season total from his freshman year – with a blast from the right circle. Redshirt junior Wade Murphy earned an assist on the goal, extending his point-per-game streak to five.
Just over four minutes later, the point streak was also extended to five games for redshirt sophomore Louie Rowe, as he cleaned up the garbage off of a shot from freshman defenseman Jakob Stridsberg. The goal became his third goal and sixth point in the month of December.
Before anyone could catch their breath, freshman forward Riley Simpson netted the first goal of his college career 12 seconds later on a beautiful redirect off the shot of redshirt sophomore Dylan Hollman.
For good measure, freshman Brett Gruber tacked on the fourth of the game and third of his rookie season on a 2-on-1 rush with a snipe passed fellow Green Bay native and UMass goalie Ryan Wischow. Redshirt junior David Norris earned his second assist of the game on the goal, making it his fourth point – a goal in each of the last two games – on the three-game road trip.
On special teams, ASU continued their success on the penalty kill, going 2-for-2 on the night and 9-for-10 during the three-game trip. The Devils finished 2-for-7 on the power play.
"We thought we could come here and have a winning record on this trip," said Powers. "That internally was our goal. We felt if we got the first two, we would get three. We're taking it game-by-game. The guys earned a nice holiday break before we come back for the Desert Hockey Classic. We'll be looking to win it."
The Sun Devils will return to action on Friday, Dec. 30 against Brown at the 2nd Annual Desert Hockey Classic in Prescott Valley, Ariz. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Prescott Valley Events Center, following the 4 p.m. game between St. Cloud State and UCONN.
Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com and one ticket earns admission to both games on same day.