Recap by Justin Gaither & Liesl Babicka, Sun Devil Athletics' Interns
TEMPE, Ariz. -- It was an emotional night at Oceanside Ice Arena, as No. 12 Sun Devil Hockey (21-10-1) sent its five seniors off with a bang with a 5-4 overtime victory over American International (17-14-1), sweeping the Yellow Jackets for the team's fifth-straight win.
After cruising to a 4-1 victory in game one, and holding the same lead late in the second period, a flurry of Sun Devil penalties led to three unanswered AIC goals to force overtime before PJ Marrocco pounded home the game winner in overtime.
"We were thrown, what I think, pretty unjust adversity and we got through it and we had an incredible backbone in our room and so much character and just looking at the guys' eyes after regulation that we were going to win," said head coach Greg Powers. "It's a monumental win for us … 21 wins in our third full season of NCAA hockey, fourth overall, is a credit to these five guys and what they built here and certainly the rest of that locker room is following along."
The game got off to a fast start once again as the Sun Devils quickly added two tallies in the first six minutes -- one from sophomore Filips Buncis and one from junior Tyler Busch on the power play.
After AIC responded with one of their own midway through the first frame, it was the hot hand of freshman Demetrios Koumontzis who took over for ASU, scoring a goal and then assisting on Tyler Busch's second of the night to give the Devils' a 4-1 lead. He finished with a goal and three assists overall on the night for his second four-point game of the season. Koumontzis is on a three-game point streak with three goals and five assists.
From there, the Devils were assessed seven-straight penalties between the middle of the second and middle of the third periods. The Yellow Jackets seized their opportunity, as AIC took advantage of six power plays in the final two periods to get within one of ASU.
With the goalie pulled and just over a minute left, AIC tied the game at four with 1:05 on the clock to force overtime.
From there, the story pretty much wrote itself as junior captain Brinson Pasichnuk found Marrocco streaking toward the net with an AIC defender on him for a redirection to seal the win and a 12-2 record at home for ASU. Koumontzis, of course, earned the secondary assist. Pasichnuk finished with two assists on the night.
The win came with a lot of emotion for the entire Sun Devil Hockey program as it was the last home game for the first-ever Division I senior class, who arrived in Tempe in year one of the program.
"It's pretty bittersweet," said senior Anthony Croston. "But to get a dub in our last home game here is pretty special for us, so hopefully we can continue for the final two games of the season."
While the Sun Devils' season at Oceanside is over, their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid continues with two regular season games remaining. Following another bye week, the team travels north to Minnesota to take on one of the most legendary programs in college hockey in the University of Minnesota on March 1-2.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- It was an emotional night at Oceanside Ice Arena, as No. 12 Sun Devil Hockey (21-10-1) sent its five seniors off with a bang with a 5-4 overtime victory over American International (17-14-1), sweeping the Yellow Jackets for the team's fifth-straight win.
After cruising to a 4-1 victory in game one, and holding the same lead late in the second period, a flurry of Sun Devil penalties led to three unanswered AIC goals to force overtime before PJ Marrocco pounded home the game winner in overtime.
"We were thrown, what I think, pretty unjust adversity and we got through it and we had an incredible backbone in our room and so much character and just looking at the guys' eyes after regulation that we were going to win," said head coach Greg Powers. "It's a monumental win for us … 21 wins in our third full season of NCAA hockey, fourth overall, is a credit to these five guys and what they built here and certainly the rest of that locker room is following along."
The game got off to a fast start once again as the Sun Devils quickly added two tallies in the first six minutes -- one from sophomore Filips Buncis and one from junior Tyler Busch on the power play.
After AIC responded with one of their own midway through the first frame, it was the hot hand of freshman Demetrios Koumontzis who took over for ASU, scoring a goal and then assisting on Tyler Busch's second of the night to give the Devils' a 4-1 lead. He finished with a goal and three assists overall on the night for his second four-point game of the season. Koumontzis is on a three-game point streak with three goals and five assists.
From there, the Devils were assessed seven-straight penalties between the middle of the second and middle of the third periods. The Yellow Jackets seized their opportunity, as AIC took advantage of six power plays in the final two periods to get within one of ASU.
With the goalie pulled and just over a minute left, AIC tied the game at four with 1:05 on the clock to force overtime.
From there, the story pretty much wrote itself as junior captain Brinson Pasichnuk found Marrocco streaking toward the net with an AIC defender on him for a redirection to seal the win and a 12-2 record at home for ASU. Koumontzis, of course, earned the secondary assist. Pasichnuk finished with two assists on the night.
The win came with a lot of emotion for the entire Sun Devil Hockey program as it was the last home game for the first-ever Division I senior class, who arrived in Tempe in year one of the program.
"It's pretty bittersweet," said senior Anthony Croston. "But to get a dub in our last home game here is pretty special for us, so hopefully we can continue for the final two games of the season."
While the Sun Devils' season at Oceanside is over, their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament bid continues with two regular season games remaining. Following another bye week, the team travels north to Minnesota to take on one of the most legendary programs in college hockey in the University of Minnesota on March 1-2.