COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Sun Devil Hockey encountered both in Sunday's matinee showdown with Colorado College, but would eventually preserver with a 4-4 tie at Broadmoor World Arena.
ASU (4-10-4) started fast with an early 2-0 lead behind goals from freshman defenseman Gvido Jansons and sophomore forward Brett Gruber. While the Tigers (8-7-3) -- who are ranked No. 16 in the USCHO Pairwise Rankings -- followed with four unanswered goals, the Sun Devils showed grit with two goals in less than a minute to tie the game in the middle frame.
"The boys battled hard against a really good team," said head coach Greg Powers. "We played well. I'm really proud of them and a great effort to go into the break off of. We obviously wanted to get a win, and a tie is never something we'll be content with. But against a team this good on the road, especially a bounce-back effort like it was, we're proud of the guys."
After a tough start the day prior, in which Colorado College scored three goals in a five-minute span in the first period, the Sun Devils flipped the script on Sunday, taking the early 2-0 lead.
Four minutes into the game, junior forward Anthony Croston swung around the back of the net before finding Jansons crashing into the slot for a blast that beat Saturday's hero and Tiger goaltender Alex Leclerc, killing his streak of shutout minutes against the Devils.
Just five minutes later, freshman forward Johnny Walker forced a turnover for an odd-man stack of three Sun Devils in front of Leclerc, and they made the Tigers pay. Walker perfectly fed a pass to the tape of Gruber's stick for a quick one-timer and the 2-0 lead.
Colorado College had only gotten into a 2-0 deficit three times this season, all of which came against top-ranked teams in then-No. 21 Vermont, then-No. 17 New Hampshire, and then-No. 2 St. Cloud State.
Two early penalties would end up proving to be costly for the Devils, as the Tigers scored on both of the first two power-play chances – with a goal mixed in the middle – to take their first lead of the game.
Six minutes into the second period, they would double that lead and go up 4-2.
After allowing Colorado College to start 2-for-2 on the power-play, the Sun Devil penalty kill proceeded to kill the next five-straight penalties.
That will and determination finally paid off, as just four minutes after the Tigers extended their lead to two, sophomore forward Tyler Busch cut the lead back in half. The goal was Busch's sixth of the season and moved him into the team lead for goals scored.
The penalty-killing unit transformed from killers to scorers in the middle of the second. Thirty-two seconds after Busch's goal, Croston recorded the team's first shorthanded goal to tie the game at four. Gruber fed Croston up ahead, who raced behind the Tiger defensemen and tucked the puck under Leclerc's pads with a man draped over him.
"There was a lot of adversity thrown our way, and the boys fought through it," said Powers. "They popped two power-play goals in their first two chances, and got all the momentum back. But to bounce back from being down 4-2 after being up 2-0, I think says a lot about the guys character and we're proud of them."
Gruber and Croston both finished the night with a goal and an assist, moving Gruber to 13 points on the season – one point short of his freshman year total of 14 points. He now has two goals and three assists in his last five games, and has averaged a point-per-game over his last seven.
Croston's two points ended a streak of 11 games without a point, and his first multi-point game since the season opener against UMass on Oct. 6.
ASU now enters the holiday break before traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Three Rivers Classic Tournament at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 29-30. The four-team tournament features No. 11 Providence, Lake Superior State and Robert Morris.
The Sun Devils open the tournament against No. 11 Providence at 4:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Dec. 29. Tickets can be purchased here.
ASU (4-10-4) started fast with an early 2-0 lead behind goals from freshman defenseman Gvido Jansons and sophomore forward Brett Gruber. While the Tigers (8-7-3) -- who are ranked No. 16 in the USCHO Pairwise Rankings -- followed with four unanswered goals, the Sun Devils showed grit with two goals in less than a minute to tie the game in the middle frame.
"The boys battled hard against a really good team," said head coach Greg Powers. "We played well. I'm really proud of them and a great effort to go into the break off of. We obviously wanted to get a win, and a tie is never something we'll be content with. But against a team this good on the road, especially a bounce-back effort like it was, we're proud of the guys."
After a tough start the day prior, in which Colorado College scored three goals in a five-minute span in the first period, the Sun Devils flipped the script on Sunday, taking the early 2-0 lead.
Four minutes into the game, junior forward Anthony Croston swung around the back of the net before finding Jansons crashing into the slot for a blast that beat Saturday's hero and Tiger goaltender Alex Leclerc, killing his streak of shutout minutes against the Devils.
Just five minutes later, freshman forward Johnny Walker forced a turnover for an odd-man stack of three Sun Devils in front of Leclerc, and they made the Tigers pay. Walker perfectly fed a pass to the tape of Gruber's stick for a quick one-timer and the 2-0 lead.
Colorado College had only gotten into a 2-0 deficit three times this season, all of which came against top-ranked teams in then-No. 21 Vermont, then-No. 17 New Hampshire, and then-No. 2 St. Cloud State.
Two early penalties would end up proving to be costly for the Devils, as the Tigers scored on both of the first two power-play chances – with a goal mixed in the middle – to take their first lead of the game.
Six minutes into the second period, they would double that lead and go up 4-2.
After allowing Colorado College to start 2-for-2 on the power-play, the Sun Devil penalty kill proceeded to kill the next five-straight penalties.
That will and determination finally paid off, as just four minutes after the Tigers extended their lead to two, sophomore forward Tyler Busch cut the lead back in half. The goal was Busch's sixth of the season and moved him into the team lead for goals scored.
The penalty-killing unit transformed from killers to scorers in the middle of the second. Thirty-two seconds after Busch's goal, Croston recorded the team's first shorthanded goal to tie the game at four. Gruber fed Croston up ahead, who raced behind the Tiger defensemen and tucked the puck under Leclerc's pads with a man draped over him.
"There was a lot of adversity thrown our way, and the boys fought through it," said Powers. "They popped two power-play goals in their first two chances, and got all the momentum back. But to bounce back from being down 4-2 after being up 2-0, I think says a lot about the guys character and we're proud of them."
Gruber and Croston both finished the night with a goal and an assist, moving Gruber to 13 points on the season – one point short of his freshman year total of 14 points. He now has two goals and three assists in his last five games, and has averaged a point-per-game over his last seven.
Croston's two points ended a streak of 11 games without a point, and his first multi-point game since the season opener against UMass on Oct. 6.
ASU now enters the holiday break before traveling to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Three Rivers Classic Tournament at PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 29-30. The four-team tournament features No. 11 Providence, Lake Superior State and Robert Morris.
The Sun Devils open the tournament against No. 11 Providence at 4:30 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Dec. 29. Tickets can be purchased here.