TEMPE – The No. 18/19 Arizona State ice hockey team (4-0-0) completed the sweep of the Northern Michigan Wildcats (0-3-1) with a 5-1 victory on Saturday to remain undefeated and extend the Sun Devil's best start in program history. Matthew Kopperud scored his 26th career power play goal to break the program record for career PPG previously held by Johnny Walker (25).
The Sun Devils dominated on special teams, scoring three goals tonight on the power play. The last game they were able to accomplish that feat was against No. 12 Denver on Oct. 9, 2021.
The score was dead-locked until the second period when Charlie Schoen put the puck in the back of the net. Northern Michigan was quick to respond with a game-tying goal just three minutes later. The Sun Devils quickly shut down the Wildcats momentum with two more goals notched by Matthew Kopperud and Alex Young.
Benji Eckerle, Dylan Jackson and Charlie Schoen were able to log their first goals of the season tonight with Anthony Dowd and Brian Chambers assisting twice each.
The Sun Devils hit the road for the first time this season to Oxford, Ohio next weekend for a two-game series against the Miami (OH) Redhawks (3-1-0). This will be the first meeting between the two schools in program history.
"We have to win on the road. These are huge games. We don't have a lot of opportunities to go and win on the road this year, so we have to make the most of them. It's a much improved Miami (OH) team, they're 3-1. We've never played them. They're a future conference opponent and we're excited to go play them," said head coach Greg Powers.
Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 pm (MST) for both matchups. The game can be viewed on NCHC.tv (for a subscription fee) and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
SERIES NOTABLES
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
For the fourth straight game, both sides went into the locker rooms unable to find the back of the net. However, the Sun Devils pelted the Wildcat goalie with 13 shots, tying the season high for most shots in the opening frame. Two of them clinked off the pipe for the Sun Devils, but the game remained scoreless. In the last five minutes, Ethan Szmagaj was called for tripping, but the ASU penalty-killing unit withstood NMU's power play. Quickly, after returning to full strength, the Wildcats were called for hooking, putting ASU on their first power play going into the second period for 1:46.
Second Period
NMU killed the ASU man-up advantage to open the period. However, the Sun Devils were able to break the 0-0 tie with a goal from Charlie Schoen with help from Anthony Dowd and Alex Young. It marked Schoen's first goal of the season. Shortly after, NMU struck back to even the score on a power play after a tripping penalty on Brian Chambers. Kopperud sought out for a quick response, re-taking the lead with his third goal of the season with Lukas Sillinger tallying the assist. Kopperud's goal helped set a new record for most power-play goals by a single player in program history. Alex Young gave the Sun Devils some insurance closing out the period by scoring his second goal this season with assists by Tyler Gratton and Chambers.
Third Period
ASU was able to complete the penalty kill to open the period without any trouble. For the third time tonight, the Sun Devils were able to capitalize on the power play with Dylan Jackson slotting in his first goal of the season assisted by Dowd and Schoen. Defenseman Isack Bandu was sent off with a five-minute major for game misconduct putting the Sun Devils at an advantage once again. While NMU was able to hold off Arizona State during the power play, the Sun Devils were able to find the back of the net shortly after with a goal from Benji Eckerle and assists from Kyle Smolen and Ryan O'Reilly.
The Sun Devils dominated on special teams, scoring three goals tonight on the power play. The last game they were able to accomplish that feat was against No. 12 Denver on Oct. 9, 2021.
RECORD SETTER ??@kopper303 /// #BeTheTradition pic.twitter.com/jAJKYiu2nQ
— Sun Devil Hockey (@SunDevilHockey) October 22, 2023
The score was dead-locked until the second period when Charlie Schoen put the puck in the back of the net. Northern Michigan was quick to respond with a game-tying goal just three minutes later. The Sun Devils quickly shut down the Wildcats momentum with two more goals notched by Matthew Kopperud and Alex Young.
Benji Eckerle, Dylan Jackson and Charlie Schoen were able to log their first goals of the season tonight with Anthony Dowd and Brian Chambers assisting twice each.
The Sun Devils hit the road for the first time this season to Oxford, Ohio next weekend for a two-game series against the Miami (OH) Redhawks (3-1-0). This will be the first meeting between the two schools in program history.
"We have to win on the road. These are huge games. We don't have a lot of opportunities to go and win on the road this year, so we have to make the most of them. It's a much improved Miami (OH) team, they're 3-1. We've never played them. They're a future conference opponent and we're excited to go play them," said head coach Greg Powers.
Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 pm (MST) for both matchups. The game can be viewed on NCHC.tv (for a subscription fee) and heard on Fox Sports 910, the home of Sun Devil Hockey.
SERIES NOTABLES
- Matthew Kopperud's second period power play goal was the 26th of his collegiate career, setting a new program record and breaking Johnny Walker's 25 PPG record. It's his second power play goal of the season.
- The Sun Devils pushed three power play goals against the Wildcats in Saturday's win, the most ASU has had in a single game since Oct. 9, 2021 against then-No. 12 Denver.
- The Maroon & Gold move to 7-1 all-time at Mullett Arena in the month of October.
- 17 shots were the fewest allowed by the Sun Devils all season, it's also the fewest allowed by ASU since January 27, 2023 when ASU allowed 17 against St. Thomas.
- It's the third-straight sweep for the Sun Devils dating back to last season's sweep against Long Island on March 10-11.
- Brian Chambers has five assists through four games and tallied his second multi-assist game of the season on Saturday. He leads the team in points with five without scoring a goal.
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
For the fourth straight game, both sides went into the locker rooms unable to find the back of the net. However, the Sun Devils pelted the Wildcat goalie with 13 shots, tying the season high for most shots in the opening frame. Two of them clinked off the pipe for the Sun Devils, but the game remained scoreless. In the last five minutes, Ethan Szmagaj was called for tripping, but the ASU penalty-killing unit withstood NMU's power play. Quickly, after returning to full strength, the Wildcats were called for hooking, putting ASU on their first power play going into the second period for 1:46.
Second Period
NMU killed the ASU man-up advantage to open the period. However, the Sun Devils were able to break the 0-0 tie with a goal from Charlie Schoen with help from Anthony Dowd and Alex Young. It marked Schoen's first goal of the season. Shortly after, NMU struck back to even the score on a power play after a tripping penalty on Brian Chambers. Kopperud sought out for a quick response, re-taking the lead with his third goal of the season with Lukas Sillinger tallying the assist. Kopperud's goal helped set a new record for most power-play goals by a single player in program history. Alex Young gave the Sun Devils some insurance closing out the period by scoring his second goal this season with assists by Tyler Gratton and Chambers.
Third Period
ASU was able to complete the penalty kill to open the period without any trouble. For the third time tonight, the Sun Devils were able to capitalize on the power play with Dylan Jackson slotting in his first goal of the season assisted by Dowd and Schoen. Defenseman Isack Bandu was sent off with a five-minute major for game misconduct putting the Sun Devils at an advantage once again. While NMU was able to hold off Arizona State during the power play, the Sun Devils were able to find the back of the net shortly after with a goal from Benji Eckerle and assists from Kyle Smolen and Ryan O'Reilly.