TEMPE – Fate was smiling down on the Sun Devils as ASU (12-16-0) completed a 4-0 shutout victory over St. Thomas (7-16-2) in head coach Greg Powers' 100th NCAA win on Friday night. Powers, a former goaltender, stood as bench boss while netminder TJ Semptimphelter reeled in his fifth shutout of the season which ties for second in the nation. Four skaters combined on the night's scoring and the trio of Demetrios Koumontzis, Dylan Jackson and Ty Jackson all recorded one goal and one assist.
In every game that junior forward Ty Jackson has scored in, the team has gone on to secure a win. Jackson scored in wins over Alaska Anchorage, Colorado College, then-No. 2 Minnesota, and St. Thomas. The two-point night by Jackson is the 11th of his career (four at ASU, seven at Northeastern).
Including Semptimphelter's fifth career shutout as a Sun Devil, his 17 saves is the fewest amount of saves in a win this season for ASU.
The Sun Devils extended their undefeated winning streak when leading going into the third period to 8-0-0. ASU outshot St. Thomas 41-17 through three frames. The Sun Devils put 17 shots up in the third period alone.
ASU continued to find goal-scoring success against St. Thomas and has scored at least four goals against the Tommies in all three meetings in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Period:
The Sun Devils had two power play chances in the first, including a five-minute major against St. Thomas in only six minutes of game play, but wasn't able to find the back of the net in the seven minutes of the man-advantage.
Quickly following the five-minute major, Arizona State was called for high-sticking which put the 12th best penalty-kill unit on the ice. The unit converted successfully to keep the game scoreless.
The opening period ended with no goals on the board for either team, but the Sun devils won the shot advantage 9-5 heading into the intermission.
Second Period:
St. Thomas was given its second power play of the night and despite having a man-up on ASU, the Sun Devils were able to fire two shorthanded shots on goal in the effort to kill off the penalty.
Halfway through the middle frame the game got more physical as both sides faced chances to score the first goal of the game. Sophomore TJ Semptimphelter made several heroic stops to keep the game tied at 0-0.
Offsetting penalties occurred after a scuffle broke out in front of the Tommies' net with 4:46 remaining in the second period putting both teams play 4-on-4 for two minutes. Neither team could light the lamp and the game returned to full strength.
Inside the final two minutes with 1:54 remaining, the Jackson twins generated some Mullett Magic. A shot by Dylan Jackson rebounded from the Tommies goalie, and his twin, Ty Jackson belted home his fourth goal of the season and his first since Nov. 26, 2022 against No. 2 Minnesota. Dylan Jackson was credited with the assist making his third on the year.
"I got you, bro" - Ty to Dylan (probably)#BeTheTradition /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/gmkNcihhBf
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 28, 2023
ASU went into the second intermission with a 1-0 lead and boasted double the shots on goal over St. Thomas, 24-12.
Third Period:
Opening up the final period offered much entertainment before the crowd could settle in for the second straight game. Koumontzis slapped his sixth goal of the season 46 seconds into the final frame after smooth puck movement from Ty Murchison, his third of the year and freshman Ryan Alexander tallying his fifth assist of the season.
.@dkoumontzis from deep #BeTheTradition /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/YVvrZMWsgC
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 28, 2023
After a five minute major penalty was called against the Tommies, the Sun Devils were successful on the power play to extend their lead to three with 13:18 remained after Jack Jensen netted his third goal of the year, including assists by Koumontzis, his fifth on the year and Mastrosimone with his team-leading 20th assist on the season. It marks Jensen's second goal on the power play this season.
we heard you wanted to see another goal ??@Jack_Jensen12 /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/O23hwov6Ki
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 28, 2023
With seven minutes remaining, Dylan Jackson snuck in his sixth goal of the year to put the Sun Devils ahead by four. His twin brother Ty Jackson was credited with his eighth assist this season, tag-teaming was junior forward Lukas Sillinger obtaining his 11th assist, his first since Dec. 31, 2022 against Boston College.
it's only right that each brother gets one ?????#BeTheTradition /// #O2V pic.twitter.com/Cd1sA12lh5
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) January 28, 2023
UP NEXT:
Arizona State will look to continue the momentum and sweep the Tommies tomorrow at 7 p.m. MST at Mullett Arena. Coverage can be seen on ASU Live Stream and heard on FOX SPORTS 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
QUOTES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers:
On the stats of the night:
"That's what you want to see, right? It's been a bit, but I thought it was a pretty dominating effort from our guys. The first half of the game was going the way it has been offensively; just couldn't find the back of the net. Then we got a nice, ugly, kind of old-fashioned goal with Dylan getting it off his tape and on a pad and Ty driving to the net. That's usually how it starts. You gotta earn your puck luck and you gotta earn your goals when you're struggling to score and tonight we did that."
On the Jackson twins:
"That got them going. I thought prior to that goal they were just playing okay. Obviously, you saw how talented a kid like Dylan is on that last goal. It was probably one of the prettiest goals he scored all year."
On putting the Jackson's anywhere in the lineup:
"Ty can play down the middle, he can play on the wing. That line's generating a lot for us, I mean Lucas almost popped one there at the end. They're three very gifted players. They're very skilled, dynamic. When they're buzzing and they're moving their feet and they're heavy on the sticks and they're doing what they need to do they're a handful for anybody.
Graduate Alternate Captain Demetrios Koumontzis:
On playing in a new position:
"It's a new experience for me but I'm just taking everything with a grain of salt and doing everything that I can to help the team win. But it was a really good team win by everyone that was out there tonight and that's all that matters the most."
On his final year and helping the team:
"From day one when you fall in love with a program you want to see them succeed. That's what the guys before me did and that's what I've wanted to do ever since I've been here. So when he [Coach Powers] texted me about it, it was something I was willing to do. It's been paying off, I've actually enjoyed it, and now it's paying off on the scoreboard. The biggest thing we preach here is that you want to leave the program better than you found it and I know we want to end the season on a high note, end above 500, and if playing defense is going to help that then I'll do it." On his goal:
"Yeah. I just got a nice drop pass there and saw the opportunity to drag it a little bit around the defender block and I just thought I would throw it on net."
On his line with Ty Jackson:
"Obviously it helps when you've played with someone for so long, so I think that just having that one guy that you have chemistry with. Obviously we have a lot of really good players here, so it doesn't even matter who we are playing with. They all bring different cards to the table. Having that chemistry with the same person and building off of another player that has different abilities."