Urban’s shutout lifts Sun Devils to gritty 1-0 win
TEMPE – Sun Devil Hockey earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Miami (OH) on Saturday night at Mullett Arena after the lone goal of the night came in the third period to back up freshman goaltender Samuel Urban’s 37-save night.
Urban registered his first career shutout to earn his third-straight win as a starter. It’s the first shutout by a Sun Devil since Gibson Homer shutout No. 16 Cornell on Jan. 4, 2025 in a 4-0 ASU win. The Slovakian native is the sixth different Sun Devil goaltender to record a shutout in program history.
Both teams played to a 0-0 stalemate in the first two periods as the RedHawks outshot the Sun Devils 26-22 through the first 40 minutes. ASU later had a five-minute power play opportunity in the second period but wasn’t able to find the game’s first goal.
The lone goal– and game winner– came from sophomore forward Noah Powell with 8:46 left in the third period to give the Sun Devils (12-11-1, 5-6-1 NCHC) the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. The victory also marked ASU’s seventh-straight win on a Saturday, and pushes the team’s record to 8-4 this season when playing on a Saturday.
ASU will return to the ice for a pair of games at Mullett Arena against No. 4 North Dakota on Jan. 23-24. Friday’s puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. MST, and Saturday’s is set to follow at 5 p.m. MST. Both games are set to be streamed on NCHC.tv.
QUOTABLES:
Arizona State Head Coach Greg Powers:
On how big this win was for the team:
“I'm proud of our guys. They had a good, gutsy effort. It's the first game we've won that was a real good defensive effort. Urbs (Samuel Urban) was great, the guys found a way and that's what it's all about. We were short-handed tonight, and then Pottsy (Cullen Potter) going down late, we were even more short-handed, but we dug deep and found a way to get the win.“
On the maturity and discipline of the team regarding penalties:
“I was disappointed with the penalties that we took in the first period and how we started the game. Then we settled in and played to win. The discipline got better as the game went on, but we want to make sure that those don’t happen, especially when we're short-handed. When guys that are primary killers take penalties, it's like a double-edged sword, but we got through it.
On his biggest takeaway of the weekend:
“That we can win ugly, it's a great message to our young team to keep the puck out of the net and give you a chance to beat anybody. We've been scoring a lot lately and we didn't score a lot this weekend. They were really good defensively and they made it tough to get through neutral ice. They were aggressive with their defense and their goalie was unbelievable all weekend and he was again tonight, he was near perfect. When you get a weekend where you score two goals and, and you come away with four points, I think that's a good sign.”
Arizona State Forward Noah Powell:
On scoring the only goal of the game:
“It was pretty cool to do it with Mo (Logan Morrell) and Alfie (Sam Alfano), and the rest of the defenseman on the ice. It was a great feeling – Coach (Powers) saying that it would have to be an ugly one and we might get only one, so to make that count.”
On team chemistry despite numerous injuries:
“We lost a lot of key players and as Coach Powers says, we have a lot of depth and we need to do it for the guys that aren’t in the lineup so that they have a chance to compete for a national championship when they’re back in the lineup. We have seniors out right now – like Bennett Schimek, so we want to do it for him and give him the chance to have that closure in his senior year.”
Arizona State Goaltender Samuel Urban:
On his emotions after his 37-save game:
“I felt great, obviously the guys helped me a lot. They blocked the shots, and cleaned the screens. It was for the entire team, not just me. We have a really tight group so the guys were happy for me.”
On the mindset throughout first NCAA shutout:
“I try to focus and to play loose in my game, I try to stop every shot and to play the game step-by-step.”