Recap by Justin Gaither & Liesl Babicka, Sun Devil Athletics' Interns
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, and the last home series of the year, the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10-1) kept the momentum rolling with a 4-1 win over American International (17-13-1) for the program's first 20-win season.
The offense was paced by the usual suspects as the nation's leading scorer Johnny Walker notched his 23rd goal of the season in the winning effort, while freshman phenoms Demetrios Koumontzis and Josh Maniscalco accounted for two-point nights with a goal apiece for the team's fourth-straight win.
"It's a milestone for our program," said head coach Greg Powers. "That's what I told our guys, they are a really good team playing hard and they came out and punched us right in the mouth. So that's a good solid team win and to get the 20th win in our third full season of our program is a special moment for our players and they should be proud of themselves."
The Yellow Jackets got off to a fast start, scoring on just their fourth shot of the game 1:36 into the first period.
It was all ASU from then on, as Walker's power-play goal tied the game just over two minutes later.
Junior netminder Joey Daccord was cool as the other side of the pillow, allowing the early goal before stopping the ensuing 21 shots and effectively shutting down the Yellow Jackets.
Once the Devils tied the game up at one, they controlled the pace, scoring three unanswered goals over the next 45 minutes to earn their 20th win of the season. The victory gave the program more wins against Division I opponents this season than in their last three years combined.
With ASU baseball picking up their first win on opening night tonight against Notre Dame, freshman defenseman Joshua Mansicalco channeled his inner Spencer Torkelson as he fully extended to bat in a loose puck to make the game 3-1 late, putting things out of reach.
"Right before that Coach Hicks got on us in the locker room for not competing for pucks," said Maniscalco. "Max put the puck on the net, keeping it simple and it just squirted down in front of me and I thought I was going to lose the race, so I just went for it and slapped it on the net and I was fortunate enough for it to go in."
The win was also the 20th for Daccord, who continues to lead the country in wins and saves.
Both special teams units were pivotal in the win with the power play converting on two of their opportunities while the kill took care of all five AIC power plays they faced. The kill moved up to fourth in the country with an 87.2% kill rate.
"I thought special teams won us the game," said Powers. "With two power play goals and a bunch of really good kills and the 5-on-3, but they got one and it extended and it was a long one, so the guys on the kill did a really good job tonight."
Tomorrow signifies the five Sun Devil seniors final home game, as the Devils will look to finish out their season at home with Senior Night against AIC tomorrow. All five seniors will be honored pregame. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. MST from Oceanside Ice Arena.
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, and the last home series of the year, the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10-1) kept the momentum rolling with a 4-1 win over American International (17-13-1) for the program's first 20-win season.
The offense was paced by the usual suspects as the nation's leading scorer Johnny Walker notched his 23rd goal of the season in the winning effort, while freshman phenoms Demetrios Koumontzis and Josh Maniscalco accounted for two-point nights with a goal apiece for the team's fourth-straight win.
"It's a milestone for our program," said head coach Greg Powers. "That's what I told our guys, they are a really good team playing hard and they came out and punched us right in the mouth. So that's a good solid team win and to get the 20th win in our third full season of our program is a special moment for our players and they should be proud of themselves."
The Yellow Jackets got off to a fast start, scoring on just their fourth shot of the game 1:36 into the first period.
It was all ASU from then on, as Walker's power-play goal tied the game just over two minutes later.
Junior netminder Joey Daccord was cool as the other side of the pillow, allowing the early goal before stopping the ensuing 21 shots and effectively shutting down the Yellow Jackets.
Once the Devils tied the game up at one, they controlled the pace, scoring three unanswered goals over the next 45 minutes to earn their 20th win of the season. The victory gave the program more wins against Division I opponents this season than in their last three years combined.
With ASU baseball picking up their first win on opening night tonight against Notre Dame, freshman defenseman Joshua Mansicalco channeled his inner Spencer Torkelson as he fully extended to bat in a loose puck to make the game 3-1 late, putting things out of reach.
"Right before that Coach Hicks got on us in the locker room for not competing for pucks," said Maniscalco. "Max put the puck on the net, keeping it simple and it just squirted down in front of me and I thought I was going to lose the race, so I just went for it and slapped it on the net and I was fortunate enough for it to go in."
The win was also the 20th for Daccord, who continues to lead the country in wins and saves.
Both special teams units were pivotal in the win with the power play converting on two of their opportunities while the kill took care of all five AIC power plays they faced. The kill moved up to fourth in the country with an 87.2% kill rate.
"I thought special teams won us the game," said Powers. "With two power play goals and a bunch of really good kills and the 5-on-3, but they got one and it extended and it was a long one, so the guys on the kill did a really good job tonight."
Tomorrow signifies the five Sun Devil seniors final home game, as the Devils will look to finish out their season at home with Senior Night against AIC tomorrow. All five seniors will be honored pregame. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. MST from Oceanside Ice Arena.