TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Hockey ended their winless skid on Friday night at Oceanside Ice Arena with a 3-2 victory over Alabama Huntsville in front of a sell-out crowd.
Junior defenseman Jakob Stridsberg played a big part for the Sun Devils (2-5-2), netting two goals for his second multi-goal collegiate game.
"I thought our guys did a good job getting in shot lanes and blocking shots tonight," said head coach Greg Powers. "We had good active sticks. A lot of their grade A's were just off of turnovers, and it was pretty much the same guy or two that were committing them tonight. We're going to have to be better tomorrow than we were tonight."
The Swede got the scoring started with a blast during the 4-on-3 power play, giving ASU their first power-play goal in four games. Fellow d-man Joey Raats found Stridsberg at the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the season.
After a wrap-around goal for Huntsville (1-6-0) tied the game up at one, Stridsberg struck again 18 minutes after his first. He made a long pass from below his own left circle to forward Brett Gruber across center ice, then proceeded to crash the net and clean up the rebound in front for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
"I think we just worked harder than we have in previous games, but we can still be better and we should definitely beat this team," said Stridsberg. "There's still a lot of things we can improve on, but hopefully we get another win tomorrow."
Stridsberg is now tied for second among defenseman in the NCAA in goals scored.
Five minutes into the third period, captain Dylan Hollman netted what would end up being the game-winner. Sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk took the loose puck into the offensive zone before leaving a drop pass for Hollman to snipe over the shoulder of freshman Huntsville goaltender Mark Sinclair.
As the final minutes ticked off, the Chargers pulled Sinclair for an extra attacker. It worked, as junior d-man Kurt Gosselin helped cut the deficit in half with 1:18 left on the clock.
The Sun Devils would hold on for the victory, ending a seven-game winless streak. Everything went right for the pieces to fall into place, as ASU won the special teams battle – six-for-six on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play – outshot the Chargers 23-22, and won at the dot, 43-19.
Powers and his squad will get their second-straight chance at the program's first NCAA home sweep on Saturday night. Puck drop for the 'White Out' on Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena, and tickets are still available.
Junior defenseman Jakob Stridsberg played a big part for the Sun Devils (2-5-2), netting two goals for his second multi-goal collegiate game.
"I thought our guys did a good job getting in shot lanes and blocking shots tonight," said head coach Greg Powers. "We had good active sticks. A lot of their grade A's were just off of turnovers, and it was pretty much the same guy or two that were committing them tonight. We're going to have to be better tomorrow than we were tonight."
The Swede got the scoring started with a blast during the 4-on-3 power play, giving ASU their first power-play goal in four games. Fellow d-man Joey Raats found Stridsberg at the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the season.
After a wrap-around goal for Huntsville (1-6-0) tied the game up at one, Stridsberg struck again 18 minutes after his first. He made a long pass from below his own left circle to forward Brett Gruber across center ice, then proceeded to crash the net and clean up the rebound in front for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
"I think we just worked harder than we have in previous games, but we can still be better and we should definitely beat this team," said Stridsberg. "There's still a lot of things we can improve on, but hopefully we get another win tomorrow."
Stridsberg is now tied for second among defenseman in the NCAA in goals scored.
Five minutes into the third period, captain Dylan Hollman netted what would end up being the game-winner. Sophomore defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk took the loose puck into the offensive zone before leaving a drop pass for Hollman to snipe over the shoulder of freshman Huntsville goaltender Mark Sinclair.
As the final minutes ticked off, the Chargers pulled Sinclair for an extra attacker. It worked, as junior d-man Kurt Gosselin helped cut the deficit in half with 1:18 left on the clock.
The Sun Devils would hold on for the victory, ending a seven-game winless streak. Everything went right for the pieces to fall into place, as ASU won the special teams battle – six-for-six on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play – outshot the Chargers 23-22, and won at the dot, 43-19.
Powers and his squad will get their second-straight chance at the program's first NCAA home sweep on Saturday night. Puck drop for the 'White Out' on Saturday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena, and tickets are still available.