TEMPE – The No. 12 Sun Devil Hockey team (18-11-2, 13-7-1 NCHC) defeated No. 3 Western Michigan (22-6-1, 15-3-1 NCHC) in a titanic Friday night showdown and 5-3 victory at Mullett Arena. With the win, the Sun Devils ended the Broncos four-game winning streak and gained ground on WMU for first place in the NCHC.
Currently at 43 points, Arizona State is just two points behind Western Michigan in conference standings and the chase for the Penrose Cup. With a victory tomorrow, ASU has a chance to seize the top spot.
Ty Jackson scored the game-winning goal with a nifty deflection in the third period. It was his second goal of the contest with his first being the opening tally. This marked the first multi-goal game for Jackson in his collegiate career.
With a victory in 60 minutes of regulation, ASU handed WMU its first regulation loss in conference play this season.
Luke Pavicich made his 19th appearance and 18th start of the year, backstopping ASU in one of his best showings all season. The senior made 39 saves, a single-game high for this season to improve his record to 12-7-0. Pavicich has tallied six games with 30-plus saves in 2024-25.
GAME NOTABLES
- Bennett Schimek played in his 100th NCAA game
- With a goal tonight, Ryan Kirwan tallied his 100th career point and reached the 20-goal plateau for this season.
- Friday night was the Sun Devils' seventh-straight sellout at Mullett Arena. The full house marked 13 sellouts in 2024-25, a new record in the Mullett era.
- ASU boasts a 3-2-0 record versus top-five opponents at home since 2022-23 (the first season at Mullett Arena).
- Friday night's win is the fifth win against a USCHO.com top-three opponent in program history.
- Five goals is the most allowed by WMU in a game all season.
- Anthony Dowd boasted a +3 on the night to take the team lead for plus/minus on the season with +16.
- Eighth multi-assist game and 13th multi-point game for Lukas Sillinger this season. He now boasts four straight games with two points and further extended his point scoring streak to eight consecutive games which is the second-longest in program history. His 34 points leads the Sun Devil team.
- Rookie defenseman Brasen Boser tallied a career high seven blocks in his 31st game played this year. On the other side of the ice, WMU's whole team only blocked five shots in the entire game.
- ASU never trailed, carrying the lead the entire game. ASU is 17-3-0 when scoring the first goal of the game and 10-2-0 when leading after the first 20 minutes.
- First win against WMU in program history.
First Period
After an opening 10 minutes largely dominated by the Broncos, a mistake in the defensive zone by WMU gave the Sun Devils the chance to break the ice with the game's first goal. Lukas Sillinger capitalized on the mishandle by WMU before finding Ty Jackson who lit the lamp at the midway point in the period. Just over one minute later, ASU seized on the newfound momentum with a sharp-angle goal by Ryan Kirwan off the feed by Ty Murchison. Kirwan's goal was the 100th career point of his collegiate career, giving the Sun Devils a 2-0 lead going into the break.
Second Period
WMU's Samuel Sjolund cut the ASU lead in half 6:30 into the second frame. Shortly after, WMU received a power play when Artem Shlaine was called for hooking, but ASU's penalty kill held strong. At the halfway point of the period, Alex Bump knotted the score at two. While WMU had tied the game, the scoreboard wouldn't read 2-2 for long. Bennett Schimek pounced on a loose puck and roofed it to regain the advantage for ASU. With that goal, ASU headed into the third period holding a 3-2 lead.
Third Period
Early in the third, WMU leveled the score at three with a goal from Zach Nehring. But similar to the second period, ASU was not deterred. At the 4:47 mark, Joel Kjellberg took a shot from the point and Ty Jackson's deflection found twine to snatch a 4-3 lead. As the clock wound down, ASU's lead remained intact. With WMU's net empty for an extra skater, Kyle Smolen delivered the insurance for ASU. That gave ASU a 5-3 lead which ended up as the final score.
Quotes:
Head Coach Greg Powers
Opening statement:
"Just a great, great hockey game. It could have gone either way. I loved our third period and loved our resolve. Didn't love how we managed pucks tonight. We knew they would come hard on the forecheck. But we have to be a lot better going back for pucks and making harder plays tomorrow if we're going to get another win. The slugfest, tons of resiliency from our guys and just a huge, huge win for the program."
On the team's physicality:
"It was awesome. I thought we matched their physicality in every way, and I think a big reason for that was the fourth line. How it was constructed and they bought into what they needed to do. Cullen Potter was finishing checks, forechecking and had a great stick. That was a man's game out there. In my opinion, I think that was Potter's best game of the season. He was dominant, he drove the play, he played the right way and he managed pucks. He played like a veteran tonight and he was special for us."
On the Mullett Arena crowd:
"It's incredible. I've been here for 17 years, and you go back to where we all started at Oceanside. It was such a small barn with low ceilings, and you couldn't hear the crowd at Oceanside because the noise went into the glass. But sometimes you still have to pinch yourself. I have guys that I played with here tonight and guys that have never been to a game at Mullett and they're just blown away. The crowd was incredible. Our fans have been incredible all year, and we owe our fans an even better effort tomorrow. We owe our fans another win. Then we're looking good to potentially host a playoff series and play in front of them again."
Forward Kyle Smolen
On how physical the team played today:
"I think we did a really good job. Our fourth line really led the charge with that and up and down our lineup, we fed off it. There's always room to get better with that too. You can always be more physical, you can always be harder on pucks, stronger on sticks, better on draws. So there's a lot of things to take away from this game."
On what this win means to the team:
"Anybody could beat anybody on any given night, but it's all about validation. We've got to validate that one now. We have to prove it. We have to prove that we are one of the best teams in the country by validating this win with another."
Goaltender Luke Pavicich
On his performance tonight:
"It felt good. I had a good week of practice and a lot of help preparing for this game and being dialed in. It's coming down to playoff hockey right now. That's the mindset, that's what it's got to be."
On his teammates blocking countless shots in tonight's game:
"I was thanking them, hugging every single one of them or trying to get to all of them. You guys see me make saves, but I hope people will see that too. Those blocks are big time. That's playoff hockey. That's how you win."
UP NEXT
Arizona State looks to sweep Western Michigan tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. MST. The game can be seen on NCHC.tv and heard on Fox Sports 910.