TEMPE, Ariz. – After three prior ties this season when going into overtime, the Sun Devil men's hockey team pulled off the 4-3 victory in the 5-on-5 session of overtime with a game-winner from redshirt senior David Norris on Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena.
ASU (4-9-3) freshman Johnny Walker helped get them there with the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining off a shot from sophomore Brett Gruber. With a power-play to finish all but seven seconds of the game, head coach Greg Powers pulled sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord for the extra attacker and 6-on-4 man advantage.
"It was just a gutty effort," said head coach Greg Powers. "Really happy for Joey Daccord, he deserved for us to grind that one out and get him a win. Just a really good team effort. I'm really proud of the guys for bouncing back like that."
Daccord stood on his head for 38 saves, four of which were highlight-reel plays to keep the Sun Devils in the game throughout the night, including this SportsCenter Top 10-worthy save below.
"It felt really good," said Daccord. "I'm just really happy for the team, for the guys. We don't always get the results that we want, but we put in the effort every week so it's nice to get rewarded for it."
While Princeton (6-7-1) did capture the first lead of the night for the second-straight game, ASU found a way to answer and get their first goal of the series. Nearly four minutes into the second period, sophomore forward Tyler Busch sniped one over the shoulder of Princeton goaltender Ben Halford for the Devils' first power-play goal since Nov. 4 versus Alabama-Huntsville.
"We won the special teams battle and that's why we won the game. Our kill was tremendous," said Powers, whose team killed all three of Princeton's power-play opportunities. "Coach Field has done an unbelievable job with it, he's in charge of the kill.
"Hicks is in charge of the power play and the power play was really good tonight. Really sharp even when we didn't pop one, we were controlling the play and wearing them down and keeping the momentum, and that's what you want out of your power play. Tonight, we were really good on special teams."
The remainder of the middle frame remained scoreless, but it was just over a minute into the third period that ASU took their first lead of the series. Norris scored the first of his two goals off of a rebound in front -- his second goal of the season.
Nine minutes later, Princeton's No. 21, Ryan Kuffner, matched Norris with the first of his two goals on the night as well. Not even two minutes later, he put the Tigers up with just under eight minutes remaining in the game for his third goal of the series.
Despite the second deficit of the evening, the Sun Devils remained composed. With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Walker drew a roughing penalty and gave ASU a power play with 2:07 on the clock.
Ironically enough, Walker would be the one in front of the net to redirect the game-tying shot from Gruber with an empty net at their backs and just 57 seconds left on the clock.
In overtime, Princeton came out fast with two grade-A scoring chances. Daccord continued to stand tall between the pipes long, and the team went to bat for him. Norris gained possession in the neutral zone and stalled just long enough for Busch to get his skate back across the blue line to avoid offsides. He skated the puck into the right circle, winded and fired a shot that was high and wide of the net. Halford lifted his glove side shoulder just enough to catch and redirect the puck back into the net.
The win kept the Sun Devils streak alive of never being swept at Oceanside since moving to Division I, which currently sits at eight-straight.
"Anytime we can win at home, it's a really fun time," said Daccord. "It's just way better winning, I'm sure everybody knows, but winning is just way more fun and you know we really regrouped there when we went down 3-2 and found a way to win the game, and you can just feel it in the locker room after the game. Everyone is so happy for each other and so excited. It's just an unreal atmosphere after we win."
ASU will now travel to Colorado Springs this upcoming weekend for a two-game series against Colorado College (7-7-2, 3-5-2 NCHC) on Dec. 16-17.
ASU (4-9-3) freshman Johnny Walker helped get them there with the game-tying goal with 57 seconds remaining off a shot from sophomore Brett Gruber. With a power-play to finish all but seven seconds of the game, head coach Greg Powers pulled sophomore goaltender Joey Daccord for the extra attacker and 6-on-4 man advantage.
"It was just a gutty effort," said head coach Greg Powers. "Really happy for Joey Daccord, he deserved for us to grind that one out and get him a win. Just a really good team effort. I'm really proud of the guys for bouncing back like that."
Daccord stood on his head for 38 saves, four of which were highlight-reel plays to keep the Sun Devils in the game throughout the night, including this SportsCenter Top 10-worthy save below.
Joey Daccord flashing the leather for @SunDevilHockey! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/YZspLfRbFp
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) December 10, 2017
"It felt really good," said Daccord. "I'm just really happy for the team, for the guys. We don't always get the results that we want, but we put in the effort every week so it's nice to get rewarded for it."
While Princeton (6-7-1) did capture the first lead of the night for the second-straight game, ASU found a way to answer and get their first goal of the series. Nearly four minutes into the second period, sophomore forward Tyler Busch sniped one over the shoulder of Princeton goaltender Ben Halford for the Devils' first power-play goal since Nov. 4 versus Alabama-Huntsville.
"We won the special teams battle and that's why we won the game. Our kill was tremendous," said Powers, whose team killed all three of Princeton's power-play opportunities. "Coach Field has done an unbelievable job with it, he's in charge of the kill.
"Hicks is in charge of the power play and the power play was really good tonight. Really sharp even when we didn't pop one, we were controlling the play and wearing them down and keeping the momentum, and that's what you want out of your power play. Tonight, we were really good on special teams."
The remainder of the middle frame remained scoreless, but it was just over a minute into the third period that ASU took their first lead of the series. Norris scored the first of his two goals off of a rebound in front -- his second goal of the season.
Nine minutes later, Princeton's No. 21, Ryan Kuffner, matched Norris with the first of his two goals on the night as well. Not even two minutes later, he put the Tigers up with just under eight minutes remaining in the game for his third goal of the series.
Despite the second deficit of the evening, the Sun Devils remained composed. With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Walker drew a roughing penalty and gave ASU a power play with 2:07 on the clock.
Ironically enough, Walker would be the one in front of the net to redirect the game-tying shot from Gruber with an empty net at their backs and just 57 seconds left on the clock.
In overtime, Princeton came out fast with two grade-A scoring chances. Daccord continued to stand tall between the pipes long, and the team went to bat for him. Norris gained possession in the neutral zone and stalled just long enough for Busch to get his skate back across the blue line to avoid offsides. He skated the puck into the right circle, winded and fired a shot that was high and wide of the net. Halford lifted his glove side shoulder just enough to catch and redirect the puck back into the net.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/q2B92JUd1x
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) December 10, 2017
The win kept the Sun Devils streak alive of never being swept at Oceanside since moving to Division I, which currently sits at eight-straight.
"Anytime we can win at home, it's a really fun time," said Daccord. "It's just way better winning, I'm sure everybody knows, but winning is just way more fun and you know we really regrouped there when we went down 3-2 and found a way to win the game, and you can just feel it in the locker room after the game. Everyone is so happy for each other and so excited. It's just an unreal atmosphere after we win."
ASU will now travel to Colorado Springs this upcoming weekend for a two-game series against Colorado College (7-7-2, 3-5-2 NCHC) on Dec. 16-17.