TEMPE – The Arizona State ice hockey team (11-13-0) grabbed the bull by the horns in a gritty loss against No. 17 Minnesota State (13-9-1) on Friday night at Mullett Arena. The special team squad reached a massive 21 straight kills before giving up a gnarly empty net power play goal that eventually buried the Sun Devils, 3-1.
Redshirt graduate Chris Grando scored his second goal of the season and the Sun Devils' fifth shorthanded goal of the year with nine seconds remaining in the first period, making it the latest ASU goal in a period this season.
Senior defenseman Jack Judson obtained an assist with the shorthanded goal during the first period, the point moves him to tied for third in program history with Jacob Wilson for career points by a defenseman with 43, behind Josh Maniscalco (52) and Brinson Pasichnuk (107).
The resilient Sun Devil penalty kill ended late in the third period, snapping a streak of 21 consecutive penalty kills which started against New Hampshire on Dec. 10, 2022. The streak is the second longest in program history.
Starting goaltender TJ Semtimphelter recorded 34 saves Friday night, his 12th game of the season with 30+ saves in a single game.
How It Happened:
First Period
The Sun Devils went on a power play opportunity the first minute of the period, but the Mavericks eventually killed it. Shortly after the ASU power play, the Sun Devils penalty kill squad was put to the test with back-to-back kills against the Mavericks power play unit. MSU would have a third power play opportunity by the end of the first period.
The Sun Devils committed their third penalty of the period with 1:28 remaining in the opening frame and with just nine seconds remaining, ASU secured a golden opportunity on a two-on-one breakaway where Grando electrified Mullett Arena after netting the first goal of the night after forward Benji Eckerle's shot rebounded off of the Maverick's goaltender to send the Sun Devils into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Second Period:
ASU started the period on the penalty kill with 32 seconds remaining as play was quickly brought back to full strength. The Mavericks answer right back, scoring their first goal of the game just 49 seconds into the second frame.
ASU was called for its fifth penalty of the game with 3:36 remaining in the second period to put the Mavericks back on the power play, despite the opportunities by the opposition, Semptimphelter and the Sun Devil penalty-kill stood resilient for the fifth time of the night.
Inside the final minute, the Sun Devils were called for their sixth penalty of the game putting MSU back on the aggression. ASU escaped the second period tied 1-1 yet the Mavericks led the shot battle by ten. Going into the final period, MSU had 1:18 to attempt to take advantage of the power play.
Third Period
Similar to the second period, ASU started on the penalty kill and sustained its momentum to keep the Mavericks off the scoreboard and the score knotted, 1-1.
After 5:31 minutes of constant hockey, both sides provided much entertainment for the ruckus crowd as the score remained tied with 9:55 remaining in the contest.
Following an ASU timeout, the Mavericks took their first lead of the game, 2-1, with 5:40 remaining in the game.
The Sun Devils pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining to attempt to equalize the game, but the rhythm of the game was halted after ASU committed their seventh penalty of the game, forcing the Mavericks back onto the power play for the remainder of the game. Despite the attempt to play with an empty net, MSU scored their third goal with a minute remaining to take the first game in the series.
UP NEXT:
Arizona State returns to the ice looking to split the series against No. 17 Minnesota State at 7 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Arizona as coverage can be heard on FOX SPORTS 910 KGME, home of Sun Devil Hockey.
QUOTES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers
On the penalty kill tonight:
"The kill has been tremendous. They were really good tonight. So proud of those guys. The guys have got to find a way to stay out of the box. And I mean that team works hard. They're big, strong, they skate, they never stop moving their feet, and the guys had way too many stick penalties and it was a focus, we harped on it all week and it was a fitting way to end the game with another one."
On getting penalties, but still staying in the game:
"Well, I think it says a lot. Our kill did a great job. They really did. I mean, especially Benji (Eckerle) and (Chris) Grando. And (Demetrios) Koumontzis ate a lot of pucks and did a great job. They did the job. TJ (Semptimphelter) was great. You know, it's unfortunate. It's another one-goal empty net loss. We've had a lot of them this year, unfortunately, or overtime. It's right there. But when you're scoring a goal a game … we're averaging now under two goals a game and the last five since we've gotten back from break. You're not gonna win many games. Right now we're 2-3 since the break. Averaged under two goals a game we're lucky to be two or three."
On Arizona State Forward Benji Eckerle:
"He was great. He was our only guy that really competed hard on faceoffs. You know, he was 7-1 on faceoffs – 87%. That's really impressive. So he was good. His legs were going, he was working. He was eating pucks. He was winning battles. He was really good for us. He was one of our bright spots for sure."
Graduate Forward Chris Grando:
On scoring short-handed:
"I've got to give credit to my linemate, Benji. He broke a play up and then I saw the opportunity to jump in the play. He put it off of the goalies' pads perfectly, right onto my tape. Shoutout to Benji for that one."
On the team's penalty kill:
"The penalty kill was great, but I don't think we should have been in that position eight times tonight. That is almost a full period of killing. It was great, but we never want to play like that."
On what a win would mean for the program:
"It would be huge, it would be huge. We know our backs are against the wall now and we've got to play to the standard we set earlier in the year. If we do that, a win will happen tomorrow and that would be really huge for the program."
Redshirt graduate Chris Grando scored his second goal of the season and the Sun Devils' fifth shorthanded goal of the year with nine seconds remaining in the first period, making it the latest ASU goal in a period this season.
Senior defenseman Jack Judson obtained an assist with the shorthanded goal during the first period, the point moves him to tied for third in program history with Jacob Wilson for career points by a defenseman with 43, behind Josh Maniscalco (52) and Brinson Pasichnuk (107).
The resilient Sun Devil penalty kill ended late in the third period, snapping a streak of 21 consecutive penalty kills which started against New Hampshire on Dec. 10, 2022. The streak is the second longest in program history.
Starting goaltender TJ Semtimphelter recorded 34 saves Friday night, his 12th game of the season with 30+ saves in a single game.
How It Happened:
First Period
The Sun Devils went on a power play opportunity the first minute of the period, but the Mavericks eventually killed it. Shortly after the ASU power play, the Sun Devils penalty kill squad was put to the test with back-to-back kills against the Mavericks power play unit. MSU would have a third power play opportunity by the end of the first period.
The Sun Devils committed their third penalty of the period with 1:28 remaining in the opening frame and with just nine seconds remaining, ASU secured a golden opportunity on a two-on-one breakaway where Grando electrified Mullett Arena after netting the first goal of the night after forward Benji Eckerle's shot rebounded off of the Maverick's goaltender to send the Sun Devils into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Second Period:
ASU started the period on the penalty kill with 32 seconds remaining as play was quickly brought back to full strength. The Mavericks answer right back, scoring their first goal of the game just 49 seconds into the second frame.
ASU was called for its fifth penalty of the game with 3:36 remaining in the second period to put the Mavericks back on the power play, despite the opportunities by the opposition, Semptimphelter and the Sun Devil penalty-kill stood resilient for the fifth time of the night.
Inside the final minute, the Sun Devils were called for their sixth penalty of the game putting MSU back on the aggression. ASU escaped the second period tied 1-1 yet the Mavericks led the shot battle by ten. Going into the final period, MSU had 1:18 to attempt to take advantage of the power play.
Third Period
Similar to the second period, ASU started on the penalty kill and sustained its momentum to keep the Mavericks off the scoreboard and the score knotted, 1-1.
After 5:31 minutes of constant hockey, both sides provided much entertainment for the ruckus crowd as the score remained tied with 9:55 remaining in the contest.
Following an ASU timeout, the Mavericks took their first lead of the game, 2-1, with 5:40 remaining in the game.
The Sun Devils pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining to attempt to equalize the game, but the rhythm of the game was halted after ASU committed their seventh penalty of the game, forcing the Mavericks back onto the power play for the remainder of the game. Despite the attempt to play with an empty net, MSU scored their third goal with a minute remaining to take the first game in the series.
UP NEXT:
Arizona State returns to the ice looking to split the series against No. 17 Minnesota State at 7 p.m. MST on Pac-12 Arizona as coverage can be heard on FOX SPORTS 910 KGME, home of Sun Devil Hockey.
QUOTES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers
On the penalty kill tonight:
"The kill has been tremendous. They were really good tonight. So proud of those guys. The guys have got to find a way to stay out of the box. And I mean that team works hard. They're big, strong, they skate, they never stop moving their feet, and the guys had way too many stick penalties and it was a focus, we harped on it all week and it was a fitting way to end the game with another one."
On getting penalties, but still staying in the game:
"Well, I think it says a lot. Our kill did a great job. They really did. I mean, especially Benji (Eckerle) and (Chris) Grando. And (Demetrios) Koumontzis ate a lot of pucks and did a great job. They did the job. TJ (Semptimphelter) was great. You know, it's unfortunate. It's another one-goal empty net loss. We've had a lot of them this year, unfortunately, or overtime. It's right there. But when you're scoring a goal a game … we're averaging now under two goals a game and the last five since we've gotten back from break. You're not gonna win many games. Right now we're 2-3 since the break. Averaged under two goals a game we're lucky to be two or three."
On Arizona State Forward Benji Eckerle:
"He was great. He was our only guy that really competed hard on faceoffs. You know, he was 7-1 on faceoffs – 87%. That's really impressive. So he was good. His legs were going, he was working. He was eating pucks. He was winning battles. He was really good for us. He was one of our bright spots for sure."
Graduate Forward Chris Grando:
On scoring short-handed:
"I've got to give credit to my linemate, Benji. He broke a play up and then I saw the opportunity to jump in the play. He put it off of the goalies' pads perfectly, right onto my tape. Shoutout to Benji for that one."
On the team's penalty kill:
"The penalty kill was great, but I don't think we should have been in that position eight times tonight. That is almost a full period of killing. It was great, but we never want to play like that."
On what a win would mean for the program:
"It would be huge, it would be huge. We know our backs are against the wall now and we've got to play to the standard we set earlier in the year. If we do that, a win will happen tomorrow and that would be really huge for the program."