OMAHA, Neb. – Three-times the charm. That was the name of the game for Sun Devil hockey on Saturday night at Baxter Arena, as head coach Greg Powers' squad overcame three deficits en route to a shootout win.
While the game officially ended in a 4-4 tie, the Sun Devils (1-4-1) left the rink with a much different feeling than that of Friday night.
"I'm so proud of our guys and the fight they showed tonight," said Powers. "They showed resiliency and battled back after a tough start to the game. It may go down as a tie, but every guy in that locker room feels differently right now. We left tonight feeling victorious."
That grit was never more obvious than the final minute of regulation, as ASU pulled sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord for the extra attacker and maintained possession in the Nebraska-Omaha (2-1-1) zone. Freshman defenseman Max Balinson wound and fired the puck on net from the left circle, and it found its way through traffic and passed sophomore UNO goalie Kris Oldham to tie the game with 38 seconds remaining. It was his first collegiate goal and point.
The game-tying goal was the third time the Devils knotted it up.
The Mavericks jumped on ASU early, burying two goals in the first three minutes and appeared to be cruising after the power-play tally for the 2-0 lead.
Nearly five minutes later, the Sun Devils' Jakob Stridsberg netted his second goal in as many games for his fourth point in six games.
The back end continued to produce for ASU, as three minutes into the second frame, freshman defenseman Gvido Jansons found the back of the net for his first goal and point of his NCAA career as well.
For the first time in the two-game series, the Sun Devils were tied with UNO. But it didn't last long.
Halfway through the second, the Mavericks' forward Jake Randolph beat Daccord on the power-play to retake the lead. It would hold for another 20 minutes.
Just over halfway through the third period, sophomore forward Brett Gruber earned his first goal of the season with a redirect off the shot of Stridsberg during 4-on-4 action.
Thirty-three seconds after UNO forward Zach Jordan returned to the ice from his roughing penalty, the Mavericks put what appeared to be the dagger through the heart of the rallying Sun Devils. Forward Tyler Vesel showed off his skills for the 4-3 lead on the third power-play tally of the night for Nebraska-Omaha.
This is where strategy came into play, as ASU's timeout was lost challenging the goal for potential offsides. With just over nine minutes remaining, and knowing he was without a timeout, Powers drew up the face-off play if the game came down to an extra attacker in the final minutes.
It paid off, as Powers' subbed in Balinson for the extra attacker.
The game ended up going to overtime for 5-on-5 for five minutes, followed by 3-on-3 for five minutes. Both shortened periods went the distance, partially due to Daccord making two huge saves to keep the game going.
A sudden-death shootout followed, with two shooters for both teams having opportunities with junior forward Jack Rowe capitalizing on his chance with a great deke and top-shelf goal for the ASU shootout victory.
The Devils' transition into their final – and third-straight – road trip of the month in New York against Colgate on Oct. 27-28.
While the game officially ended in a 4-4 tie, the Sun Devils (1-4-1) left the rink with a much different feeling than that of Friday night.
"I'm so proud of our guys and the fight they showed tonight," said Powers. "They showed resiliency and battled back after a tough start to the game. It may go down as a tie, but every guy in that locker room feels differently right now. We left tonight feeling victorious."
That grit was never more obvious than the final minute of regulation, as ASU pulled sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord for the extra attacker and maintained possession in the Nebraska-Omaha (2-1-1) zone. Freshman defenseman Max Balinson wound and fired the puck on net from the left circle, and it found its way through traffic and passed sophomore UNO goalie Kris Oldham to tie the game with 38 seconds remaining. It was his first collegiate goal and point.
The game-tying goal was the third time the Devils knotted it up.
The Mavericks jumped on ASU early, burying two goals in the first three minutes and appeared to be cruising after the power-play tally for the 2-0 lead.
Nearly five minutes later, the Sun Devils' Jakob Stridsberg netted his second goal in as many games for his fourth point in six games.
The back end continued to produce for ASU, as three minutes into the second frame, freshman defenseman Gvido Jansons found the back of the net for his first goal and point of his NCAA career as well.
For the first time in the two-game series, the Sun Devils were tied with UNO. But it didn't last long.
Halfway through the second, the Mavericks' forward Jake Randolph beat Daccord on the power-play to retake the lead. It would hold for another 20 minutes.
Just over halfway through the third period, sophomore forward Brett Gruber earned his first goal of the season with a redirect off the shot of Stridsberg during 4-on-4 action.
Thirty-three seconds after UNO forward Zach Jordan returned to the ice from his roughing penalty, the Mavericks put what appeared to be the dagger through the heart of the rallying Sun Devils. Forward Tyler Vesel showed off his skills for the 4-3 lead on the third power-play tally of the night for Nebraska-Omaha.
This is where strategy came into play, as ASU's timeout was lost challenging the goal for potential offsides. With just over nine minutes remaining, and knowing he was without a timeout, Powers drew up the face-off play if the game came down to an extra attacker in the final minutes.
It paid off, as Powers' subbed in Balinson for the extra attacker.
The game ended up going to overtime for 5-on-5 for five minutes, followed by 3-on-3 for five minutes. Both shortened periods went the distance, partially due to Daccord making two huge saves to keep the game going.
A sudden-death shootout followed, with two shooters for both teams having opportunities with junior forward Jack Rowe capitalizing on his chance with a great deke and top-shelf goal for the ASU shootout victory.
The Devils' transition into their final – and third-straight – road trip of the month in New York against Colgate on Oct. 27-28.