MADISON, Wisc. – A fan-friendly, offensive explosion took place at the Kohl Center in Madison, but the No. 9 Sun Devils (22-10-3) were upset by Wisconsin (12-18-1) with a goal in the final two minutes for the 7-6 victory Friday night.
Forwards Johnny Walker and James Sanchez each finished with four-point nights, with Sanchez becoming the first Sun Devil in program history to reach the 40-point milestone in a season. He now ranks 5th in the country in points.
"We pride ourselves on being a little harder to play against defensively than we were tonight," said head coach Greg Powers. "Just simple stuff, guys not picking up weakside guys on entry, guys not getting simple block outs, so mistakes that some guys made that aren't characteristic of the ones that they make. We had some positives too. Everyone knows how good that team is … it was a fun hockey game to watch and good for the fans."
HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME NOTES
Forwards Johnny Walker and James Sanchez each finished with four-point nights, with Sanchez becoming the first Sun Devil in program history to reach the 40-point milestone in a season. He now ranks 5th in the country in points.
"We pride ourselves on being a little harder to play against defensively than we were tonight," said head coach Greg Powers. "Just simple stuff, guys not picking up weakside guys on entry, guys not getting simple block outs, so mistakes that some guys made that aren't characteristic of the ones that they make. We had some positives too. Everyone knows how good that team is … it was a fun hockey game to watch and good for the fans."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- It didn't take long before the scoring got started, as Sun Devil defenseman Josh Maniscalco took a cross-ice pass from Tyler Busch during a 4-on-2 rush and buried it for the early 1-0 lead.
- Several scoring chances followed for ASU, but Wisconsin answered back late in the 1st period as Roman Ahcan came out of the box for a breakaway and made a move before tucking home the game-tying goal.
- Less than a minute later, Ahcan buried his second as the Sun Devils turned it over, which led to a 2-on-2 rush and a drop pass that Ahcan wristed home for the 2-1 lead.
- With seconds dwindling down in the 1st period, and ASU on the powerplay, Sanchez found Walker on the backdoor for a quick shot to tie the game with 6.6 seconds left in the 1st.
- Five minutes into the 2nd period, the Badgers scored two goals within 39 seconds to take a 4-2 lead. Ryder Donovan came out of the penalty box and made a move 1-on-1 to get in front and punch it 5-hole. Alex Turcotte then crashed the net for a punch in off a rebound that kicked off DeBrouwer's pads.
- Before the end of the 2nd, the Sun Devils rallied back again as Jordan Sandhu and Walker brought it back to a tie game entering second intermission.
- Six minutes into the 3rd, Walker toe dragged a defender before firing a shot that was picked up and punched in by defenseman Gvido Jansons for the 5-4 lead.
- Halfway thru the 3rd, the Badgers again netted two goals in under a minute. Turcotte accomplished his second on a centering pass that pinballed behind DeBrouwer, while Pelton-Byce capitalized off another ASU turnover with a blast from the slot.
- Less than two minutes later, while on the powerplay, Brinson Pasichnuk ripped home a shot from the top of the slot to tie the game again.
- In the final two minutes, both teams developed chances but Wisconsin capitalized with 1:09 remaining in the game as Ahcan finished his hat trick with a big blast from the top of the right circle.
GAME NOTES
- ASU's seven-game winning streak was snapped tonight, ending the program's longest winning streak in history.
- The Sun Devils six goals are tied for the most scored in a game this season, along with two others games this year.
- Tonight was the second-straight game ASU netted two powerplay goals. The Devils finished 2-for-7 on the power play.
- ASU killed all three of Wisconsin's powerplay opportunities, which included two minutes of 5-on-3. The Sun Devil penalty kill has negated 46 straight now dating back to Jan. 5 vs. Michigan Tech.
- Walker is now on a three-game point streak after recording his second, four-point night of the season.
- Walker recorded his 20th goal of the season, making for his second-straight season with 20 or more goals.
- Sanchez recorded his first collegiate four-point game, and became the first Sun Devil to reach 40 points in a season in program history. He now ranks 5th in the country in points, and is nine out of the national lead.
- The seven goals given up by ASU was just the second time they've allowed more than five all season.
- Brinson's three-point night puts him second in the country in points by a defenseman and just one point out of the national lead.
- He has nine points in the last four games with six goals and three assists.