TEMPE – The No. 2-seed Arizona State ice hockey team (20-13-2, 15-9-1 NCHC) defeated No. 7-seed Minnesota Duluth (13-19-3, 9-14-2 NCHC) 4-3, in the first game of the NCHC quarterfinal series on Friday night at Mullett Arena. It was the first postseason contest in Tempe and the Sun Devils have a chance to clinch a spot in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff with a win on Saturday night.
In a back-and-forth battle, ASU took an early 2-0 lead before UMD responded with two goals of its own. The two teams then traded goals before Anthony Dowd notched the game-winner with over 14 minutes left in the third period.
Dowd's goal was just his second this season. His first came against Omaha on November 16, 2024. The game's opening lamplighter was courtesy of Ryan Kirwan who continued his impressive season by notching his NCHC-leading 24th tally.
Luke Pavicich was crucial in net for Arizona State, stopping 28 of 31 shots on the night. The Sun Devils also found success in faceoffs, holding a 31-22 advantage through 60 minutes.
GAME NOTABLES
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
The leading goal-scorer in the NCHC, Ryan Kirwan, gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead on a one-timer from the right dot. Bennett Schimek and Artem Shlaine were credited with the assists. Propelled by the electric energy in Mullett, Charlie Schoen doubled ASU's advantage by holding the puck in the offensive zone on a Bulldog's turnover and scoring unassisted through the five-hole. With 9:22 remaining in the period, Luke Pavicich robbed UMD's Max Plante in tight to preserve the 2-0 lead. Soon after though, Plante pounced on a loose puck and slotted it home to get UMD on the scoresheet. UMD received a power play with 3:46 left after Ty Jackson was called for tripping, but ASU held strong and the period ended with a 2-1 lead for the home side.
Second Period
The second period began with four-on-four action due to penalties called at the end of the first, but neither team took advantage of the open ice. Just over halfway into the period, the Bulldogs equalized the score at 2-2 after knocking on the door with several good chances. The Sun Devils wasted no time getting back on track though as Bennett Schimek finished a wrist shot from the top of the slot to recapture the lead with 8:40 left in the second period. With 3:31 remaining, UMD once again knotted the score as Sam Plante's high slot one-timer found twine. The teams headed into the third period tied at three.
Third Period
Five minutes into the final frame of Game 1, the Sun Devils jumped in front as defenseman Anthony Dowd broke the tie with a slick backhander to retake the 4-3 lead for ASU. With 8:22 left in the period, UMD brought out its power play unit when Tucker Ness was called for slashing. Late in the power play, Max Plante received a tripping penalty which ended the UMD threat. UMD attempted a final push at a tie breaker with 90 seconds left in regulation by pulling its netminder but the effort was to no avail.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Greg Powers
On the atmosphere at Mullett Arena
"The fans were incredible. I credit them with the biggest assist. They just energized our guys and carried us across the finish line tonight. They've been doing that all season. So happy we could get that one in front of them. It wasn't pretty, but the result was good."
On Charlie Schoen's performance
"He was awesome. He gave us energy, speed and tenacity. He was good on the wall and he gave us exactly what I wanted him to give us. He was probably our best player today."
On what was going through his mind when the final horn sounded
"Obviously we're thrilled to get the win, but not content with how we got the win. The result was great, but the first thing that I thought about was that we better be better. We better be a lot better than we were tonight, or else we're playing here on Sunday. We don't want to come here Sunday. We love our fans and we'd love to see them again, but we don't want to see them on Sunday. Tomorrow if we play more our style and be a little bit more assertive in a lot of areas, I like our chances."
Junior Bennett Scimek
On the team's mindset going into the third period
"We weren't happy with our second period. We weren't playing hard enough, not stopping and starting. We wanted to get back to how we started the game and the way we know how to play. Take it one shift at a time."
On overall team performance
"We need to be a lot better down the stretch if we want to make a run at this. We all know that. It's going to take a lot more tomorrow. At the end of the day, we're happy that we got this result."
On what it means to have a goalie making big plays
"That helps a lot, especially when you're a defenseman. You're always around them and see every little thing that happens. A lot of it goes unnoticed too. It gives us confidence to make plays. It bails you out and shakes you a little bit, but he does it so much and it makes things so much easier for us."
Sophomore Anthony Dowd
On his goal to take the lead in the third period
"I'm just fired up for the win and super happy to get a goal there. Coach looked at all the boys like 'let's keep going, keep playing hard, get back to our game,' because a one goal lead in the playoffs isn't too much to celebrate, you've got to keep going."
UP NEXT
Arizona State looks to complete the sweep and move onto the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST on NCHC.tv and FOX 10 Xtra.
In a back-and-forth battle, ASU took an early 2-0 lead before UMD responded with two goals of its own. The two teams then traded goals before Anthony Dowd notched the game-winner with over 14 minutes left in the third period.
Dowd's goal was just his second this season. His first came against Omaha on November 16, 2024. The game's opening lamplighter was courtesy of Ryan Kirwan who continued his impressive season by notching his NCHC-leading 24th tally.
Luke Pavicich was crucial in net for Arizona State, stopping 28 of 31 shots on the night. The Sun Devils also found success in faceoffs, holding a 31-22 advantage through 60 minutes.
GAME NOTABLES
- Anthony Dowd's game-winning goal was his second goal of the season.
- Ty Murchison recorded eight of ASU's 18 blocked shots in the game. He led the NCHC in blocked shots on the season with 59.
- Artem Shlaine has scored a point in every game against UMD this season.
- Lukas Sillinger added another assist to his conference-leading tally.
- Friday's contest was the first playoff hockey game in the The Valley since the Arizona Coyotes in 2012
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
The leading goal-scorer in the NCHC, Ryan Kirwan, gave the Sun Devils an early 1-0 lead on a one-timer from the right dot. Bennett Schimek and Artem Shlaine were credited with the assists. Propelled by the electric energy in Mullett, Charlie Schoen doubled ASU's advantage by holding the puck in the offensive zone on a Bulldog's turnover and scoring unassisted through the five-hole. With 9:22 remaining in the period, Luke Pavicich robbed UMD's Max Plante in tight to preserve the 2-0 lead. Soon after though, Plante pounced on a loose puck and slotted it home to get UMD on the scoresheet. UMD received a power play with 3:46 left after Ty Jackson was called for tripping, but ASU held strong and the period ended with a 2-1 lead for the home side.
Second Period
The second period began with four-on-four action due to penalties called at the end of the first, but neither team took advantage of the open ice. Just over halfway into the period, the Bulldogs equalized the score at 2-2 after knocking on the door with several good chances. The Sun Devils wasted no time getting back on track though as Bennett Schimek finished a wrist shot from the top of the slot to recapture the lead with 8:40 left in the second period. With 3:31 remaining, UMD once again knotted the score as Sam Plante's high slot one-timer found twine. The teams headed into the third period tied at three.
Third Period
Five minutes into the final frame of Game 1, the Sun Devils jumped in front as defenseman Anthony Dowd broke the tie with a slick backhander to retake the 4-3 lead for ASU. With 8:22 left in the period, UMD brought out its power play unit when Tucker Ness was called for slashing. Late in the power play, Max Plante received a tripping penalty which ended the UMD threat. UMD attempted a final push at a tie breaker with 90 seconds left in regulation by pulling its netminder but the effort was to no avail.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Greg Powers
On the atmosphere at Mullett Arena
"The fans were incredible. I credit them with the biggest assist. They just energized our guys and carried us across the finish line tonight. They've been doing that all season. So happy we could get that one in front of them. It wasn't pretty, but the result was good."
On Charlie Schoen's performance
"He was awesome. He gave us energy, speed and tenacity. He was good on the wall and he gave us exactly what I wanted him to give us. He was probably our best player today."
On what was going through his mind when the final horn sounded
"Obviously we're thrilled to get the win, but not content with how we got the win. The result was great, but the first thing that I thought about was that we better be better. We better be a lot better than we were tonight, or else we're playing here on Sunday. We don't want to come here Sunday. We love our fans and we'd love to see them again, but we don't want to see them on Sunday. Tomorrow if we play more our style and be a little bit more assertive in a lot of areas, I like our chances."
Junior Bennett Scimek
On the team's mindset going into the third period
"We weren't happy with our second period. We weren't playing hard enough, not stopping and starting. We wanted to get back to how we started the game and the way we know how to play. Take it one shift at a time."
On overall team performance
"We need to be a lot better down the stretch if we want to make a run at this. We all know that. It's going to take a lot more tomorrow. At the end of the day, we're happy that we got this result."
On what it means to have a goalie making big plays
"That helps a lot, especially when you're a defenseman. You're always around them and see every little thing that happens. A lot of it goes unnoticed too. It gives us confidence to make plays. It bails you out and shakes you a little bit, but he does it so much and it makes things so much easier for us."
Sophomore Anthony Dowd
On his goal to take the lead in the third period
"I'm just fired up for the win and super happy to get a goal there. Coach looked at all the boys like 'let's keep going, keep playing hard, get back to our game,' because a one goal lead in the playoffs isn't too much to celebrate, you've got to keep going."
UP NEXT
Arizona State looks to complete the sweep and move onto the NCHC Frozen Faceoff on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST on NCHC.tv and FOX 10 Xtra.