TEMPE – On Senior Night, the Arizona State ice hockey team (18-21-0) provided fans with one last night of Mullett Magic to close out the 2022-23 season with a 2-1 victory and series sweep of Long Island (13-22-0). Captain Josh Doan completed the inaugural season story, scoring the overtime game-winning goal to score both the first and last goal in Mullett Arena this season.
ASU finished the year with a 14-10-0 home record bookmarked by an upset victory of No. 2 Minnesota, five home sweeps, and the resurrection of the Desert Hockey Classic.
Senior goaltender Ben Kraws made his fourth start this season and finished his senior year with a 3-0-0 record, one shutout, a 2.19 goals against average and .926 save percentage. He made 34 saves on Saturday night, a season high for the New Jersey native. After two years of college hockey at ASU, Kraws boasts a 15-11-1 record through 33 appearances and 27 starts.
Doan managed to outdo his outstanding freshman season by assembling four more goals over the weekend to bring his total to 16. He assembled two game winning goals, tying his mark set last season. In total the Valley native managed to notch 38 points in a single season fifth most in program history. His effort this year pushes him higher in the ranks of all-time career scoring, totaling 75 points puts him in fifth.
The transfer from Boston, Robert Mastrosimone set multiple records in his tenure at ASU. The forward tallied 42 points, tying a single-season record with Colin Theisen who broke the record last year. Mastrosimone also set the record for most assists in a single season with 31 on the year, obtaining the record on the game-winning goal to Doan. The assist record was previously held by James Sanchez (2019-20) at 30.
The alternate captain Demetrios Koumontzis landed on the scoresheet, assisting Doan on the game-winning goal. Koumontzis completed his highest-scoring year since his rookie season - tallying 18 points, two shy of his freshman mark, with seven goals and 11 assists. The Scottsdale native competed in all but two games this year to finish with 142 NCAA career games, the second-most games played by an ASU skater in program history. Koumontzis is one of only three skaters to play five seasons at Arizona State.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Period:
The opening ten minutes didn't pack much of a punch for either side. The Sun Devils had an opportunity to take an early lead on the power play but the Shark defense swiftly acted and killed the man-advantage to keep the game scoreless.
Inside the final five minutes, Ty Jackson buried the first goal of the night to give ASU a 1-0 lead after sneaking past the Shark defense to find the open net to notch his sixth goal of the season and his fourth point of the weekend.
Second Period:
Nine minutes remained in the second period as a frenzy took place in front of Long Island's net. What was supposedly a Ryan Alexander goal off of a rebound from the Sharks goalie, was eventually reversed due to goalie interference after a challenge by LIU to keep the game at 1-0 with eight minutes to play.
About a minute after the Sun Devil goal was called off, the Sharks equalized the game at 1-1 with seven minutes left.
Inside the final two-minutes the chippy play continued with two penalties apiece on both sides resulting in another round of four-on-four hockey for the remainder of the frame and extending into the third period.
Third Period:
Both teams picked up the pace of play to begin the final frame as momentum shifted between both squads in the opening five minutes.
The Sun Devils gave their best effort to put away another goal on the power play, but were unable to find the net after many opportunities. Quickly after, the Sharks were on the man-advantage but the fourth-best penalty kill unit in the nation kept the game tied at one with nine minutes in regulation.
Following another penalty kill by ASU, both teams were stagnant in finding the back of the net, as the game headed to overtime tied at one.
Overtime:
Less than a minute into overtime, the Sun Devils took command of the puck and on a delayed penalty on the 3-on-3, captain Josh Doan sent the Sharks packing with a laser over the shoulder of the netminder and into the back of the net to sweep Long Island for the second-straight season.
QUOTES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers:
On Josh Doan's offensive play:
"The lightbulb just started to go off. He started gripping his stick a little bit there in the middle third of the year, getting frustrated. When the injury bug really hit us, I think Josh knew he had to carry the mail. He didn't have a choice. So he was great, we are really proud of him and glad he could get us the win tonight."
On the senior class:
"They're a great unit. Led by Komo, who was here five years. We were joking the other day, he has a third of my tenure as a head coach. He's one of the kids who played longer than anybody. Love the kid. He got an assist on the last goal. The rest of them are huge for our program. Judson, Semik, unbelievable kids, great leaders. It's what I said before the game, there's not many players in college hockey, it's so hard to win. It's so hard to make the tournament because everyone is good. LIU is really good. That's a team that beat Ohio State, took UConn to overtime twice, took Northeastern to overtime twice. They're good, it's hard to win. We have kids who just won on senior night, two in Judson and Semik that qualified for the tournament their freshman year, and one in Komo that qualified for two. There's not many kids leaving college hockey who can say that. For that reason alone, those kids left the program better than they found it."
On Ben Kraws:
"He was awesome, so happy for him. He's been a great teammate all year and for him to go three and oh (3-0-0) in his last three starts was really cool for Krawsy."
On the freshman class:
"It's up and down like any freshman class. Ryan Alexander was the shining spot of it. He was really good for us and he plays with pace. He is already a really good player, he's going to be a great college player. He's a really, really good hockey player. He's just barely scratching the surface of what he's going to be and he did a great job."
On takeaways from the season:
"Just everything. We need to have more depth, we need to be harder to play against. It's that simple. We were a little bit flawed in that sense this year and we have a lot of skill. Sometimes as a coach, you fall in love with skill. But you will see a Sun Devil Hockey team that is an absolute B**** to play against next year."
Arizona State alternate captain Demetrios Koumontzis:
On the feelings and emotions after his last game:
"It's pretty emotional, the thing that matters most is that you're surrounded by the right guys. We didn't get what we wanted to get done this season, but it was a great group of guys in that locker room and I hope the guys that's coming back put together a strong season next year so I can root them on. That's the most important thing is being surrounded by a good group of guys and that's what we have."
On the legacy that he left as a Sun Devil:
"Just a hometown kid that came to a school that was a struggling program and made the tournament in my first year. Credit to a lot of guys on that team, obviously. Be the tradition to me is just finding a home and making it your home and buying into the culture and the values that team sets for them. That's what I try to do everyday."
On leaving the program better than what they found it:
"Yes, we're both a part of tournament run teams, so I think we definitely left it better than the way we found it. It's not always about winning, although you always want to win but it's building and continuing to create a culture that creates winning. I think for the most part we did that, it's hard and I like to sit down and say that we both accomplished that for sure."
Arizona State alternate captain Jacob Semik:
On staying with the program in the future:
"Yes, it's the most important four years of our lives and we made relationships that will last forever and obviously we have a lot of pride, we stuck it out and we didn't transfer and stayed with it. Although we had some bumpy roads along the way, this is a huge part of our lives and I wouldn't want it any other way. I know we'll continue to cheer and recruit and do everything that we can to make kids come here and make this place the best that it can be."
On what it means to be a Sun Devil:
"To come here you want to leave the program better than you found it. My example is that when I came here after we already made the tournament and the next year we made the tournament. Throughout my career we got a new rink so iI'm leaving here as happy with how it went although the results weren't always there, we started with a rink that wasn't anything close to this and now we're in the best if not the best college hockey rink. We can look at the positives."
ASU finished the year with a 14-10-0 home record bookmarked by an upset victory of No. 2 Minnesota, five home sweeps, and the resurrection of the Desert Hockey Classic.
Senior goaltender Ben Kraws made his fourth start this season and finished his senior year with a 3-0-0 record, one shutout, a 2.19 goals against average and .926 save percentage. He made 34 saves on Saturday night, a season high for the New Jersey native. After two years of college hockey at ASU, Kraws boasts a 15-11-1 record through 33 appearances and 27 starts.
Doan managed to outdo his outstanding freshman season by assembling four more goals over the weekend to bring his total to 16. He assembled two game winning goals, tying his mark set last season. In total the Valley native managed to notch 38 points in a single season fifth most in program history. His effort this year pushes him higher in the ranks of all-time career scoring, totaling 75 points puts him in fifth.
The transfer from Boston, Robert Mastrosimone set multiple records in his tenure at ASU. The forward tallied 42 points, tying a single-season record with Colin Theisen who broke the record last year. Mastrosimone also set the record for most assists in a single season with 31 on the year, obtaining the record on the game-winning goal to Doan. The assist record was previously held by James Sanchez (2019-20) at 30.
The alternate captain Demetrios Koumontzis landed on the scoresheet, assisting Doan on the game-winning goal. Koumontzis completed his highest-scoring year since his rookie season - tallying 18 points, two shy of his freshman mark, with seven goals and 11 assists. The Scottsdale native competed in all but two games this year to finish with 142 NCAA career games, the second-most games played by an ASU skater in program history. Koumontzis is one of only three skaters to play five seasons at Arizona State.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Period:
The opening ten minutes didn't pack much of a punch for either side. The Sun Devils had an opportunity to take an early lead on the power play but the Shark defense swiftly acted and killed the man-advantage to keep the game scoreless.
Inside the final five minutes, Ty Jackson buried the first goal of the night to give ASU a 1-0 lead after sneaking past the Shark defense to find the open net to notch his sixth goal of the season and his fourth point of the weekend.
Second Period:
Nine minutes remained in the second period as a frenzy took place in front of Long Island's net. What was supposedly a Ryan Alexander goal off of a rebound from the Sharks goalie, was eventually reversed due to goalie interference after a challenge by LIU to keep the game at 1-0 with eight minutes to play.
About a minute after the Sun Devil goal was called off, the Sharks equalized the game at 1-1 with seven minutes left.
Inside the final two-minutes the chippy play continued with two penalties apiece on both sides resulting in another round of four-on-four hockey for the remainder of the frame and extending into the third period.
Third Period:
Both teams picked up the pace of play to begin the final frame as momentum shifted between both squads in the opening five minutes.
The Sun Devils gave their best effort to put away another goal on the power play, but were unable to find the net after many opportunities. Quickly after, the Sharks were on the man-advantage but the fourth-best penalty kill unit in the nation kept the game tied at one with nine minutes in regulation.
Following another penalty kill by ASU, both teams were stagnant in finding the back of the net, as the game headed to overtime tied at one.
Overtime:
Less than a minute into overtime, the Sun Devils took command of the puck and on a delayed penalty on the 3-on-3, captain Josh Doan sent the Sharks packing with a laser over the shoulder of the netminder and into the back of the net to sweep Long Island for the second-straight season.
QUOTES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers:
On Josh Doan's offensive play:
"The lightbulb just started to go off. He started gripping his stick a little bit there in the middle third of the year, getting frustrated. When the injury bug really hit us, I think Josh knew he had to carry the mail. He didn't have a choice. So he was great, we are really proud of him and glad he could get us the win tonight."
On the senior class:
"They're a great unit. Led by Komo, who was here five years. We were joking the other day, he has a third of my tenure as a head coach. He's one of the kids who played longer than anybody. Love the kid. He got an assist on the last goal. The rest of them are huge for our program. Judson, Semik, unbelievable kids, great leaders. It's what I said before the game, there's not many players in college hockey, it's so hard to win. It's so hard to make the tournament because everyone is good. LIU is really good. That's a team that beat Ohio State, took UConn to overtime twice, took Northeastern to overtime twice. They're good, it's hard to win. We have kids who just won on senior night, two in Judson and Semik that qualified for the tournament their freshman year, and one in Komo that qualified for two. There's not many kids leaving college hockey who can say that. For that reason alone, those kids left the program better than they found it."
On Ben Kraws:
"He was awesome, so happy for him. He's been a great teammate all year and for him to go three and oh (3-0-0) in his last three starts was really cool for Krawsy."
On the freshman class:
"It's up and down like any freshman class. Ryan Alexander was the shining spot of it. He was really good for us and he plays with pace. He is already a really good player, he's going to be a great college player. He's a really, really good hockey player. He's just barely scratching the surface of what he's going to be and he did a great job."
On takeaways from the season:
"Just everything. We need to have more depth, we need to be harder to play against. It's that simple. We were a little bit flawed in that sense this year and we have a lot of skill. Sometimes as a coach, you fall in love with skill. But you will see a Sun Devil Hockey team that is an absolute B**** to play against next year."
Arizona State alternate captain Demetrios Koumontzis:
On the feelings and emotions after his last game:
"It's pretty emotional, the thing that matters most is that you're surrounded by the right guys. We didn't get what we wanted to get done this season, but it was a great group of guys in that locker room and I hope the guys that's coming back put together a strong season next year so I can root them on. That's the most important thing is being surrounded by a good group of guys and that's what we have."
On the legacy that he left as a Sun Devil:
"Just a hometown kid that came to a school that was a struggling program and made the tournament in my first year. Credit to a lot of guys on that team, obviously. Be the tradition to me is just finding a home and making it your home and buying into the culture and the values that team sets for them. That's what I try to do everyday."
On leaving the program better than what they found it:
"Yes, we're both a part of tournament run teams, so I think we definitely left it better than the way we found it. It's not always about winning, although you always want to win but it's building and continuing to create a culture that creates winning. I think for the most part we did that, it's hard and I like to sit down and say that we both accomplished that for sure."
Arizona State alternate captain Jacob Semik:
On staying with the program in the future:
"Yes, it's the most important four years of our lives and we made relationships that will last forever and obviously we have a lot of pride, we stuck it out and we didn't transfer and stayed with it. Although we had some bumpy roads along the way, this is a huge part of our lives and I wouldn't want it any other way. I know we'll continue to cheer and recruit and do everything that we can to make kids come here and make this place the best that it can be."
On what it means to be a Sun Devil:
"To come here you want to leave the program better than you found it. My example is that when I came here after we already made the tournament and the next year we made the tournament. Throughout my career we got a new rink so iI'm leaving here as happy with how it went although the results weren't always there, we started with a rink that wasn't anything close to this and now we're in the best if not the best college hockey rink. We can look at the positives."