Hockey wins third straight Desert Hockey Classic with 5-2 victory over Air Force

TEMPE – Sun Devil Hockey defended home ice and claimed its third-consecutive Desert Hockey Classic championship after downing Air Force 5-2 (EN) on Saturday night at Mullett Arena. 

Arizona State (11-10-1, 4-5-1 NCHC) has won eight of its last 11 games, including four wins over top-10 teams to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season. This weekend alone, the Maroon and Gold outscored opponents 12-4 en route to two wins and the Desert Hockey Classic Title. 

After opening the game’s scoring with a goal, sophomore forward Cullen Potter extended his goal-scoring streak to five games. The Calgary Flames draftee has now tied the record for the longest goal streak in program history, joining Ryan Kirwan and Johnny Walker. During the five-game span, Potter has tallied 11 points (7G, 4A) and led the Sun Devils to a 4-1 record.

The senior duo of forwards Bennett Schimek (1G, 1A) and Cruz Lucius (2A) each added another multi-point effort as they saw the scoresheet on Schimek’s 10th goal of the season in the first period. The fifth goal of the season for sophomore forward Logan Morrell continued the scoring for ASU and gave the Sun Devils a 3-1 advantage headed into the third period. 

Air Force’s (10-8-2, 6-5-1 AHA) second and final goal of the night came 34 seconds into the third period to make it a 3-2 game. Freshman forward Carmelo Crandell responded just one minute later to give the Sun Devils a 4-2 cushion. After the Falcons went empty net, Crandell then tapped in his second goal of the game with 2:27 remaining to seal the 5-2 victory. 

The Sun Devils continue their six-game homestand and return to NCHC play, hosting Miami in a two-game series starting Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. MST on NCHC.TV. 

Period-by-Period Breakdown
First Period:
Air Force scored the game’s first goal with 18:15 remaining to take a 1-0 lead. Following a slashing penalty by the Falcons, Schimek set up Potter on the power play to tie the game at one with 10:15 left in the opening frame. 

Potter then returned the favor, setting Schimek up for a wrist shot that found the back of the net to give ASU a 2-1 lead with 3:27. The Sun Devils would go into the intermission holding a one-goal advantage.

Second Period:
Nearly nine minutes into the period, Morrell buried a Sun Devil goal to make it 3-1 at the 12:13 mark. The Sun Devils faced another power play opportunity, but the Falcons’ penalty kill unit kept the game 3-1. Air Force was put on a man advantage following a Sam Alfano tripping penalty, but the Sun Devils penalty kill unit brought the game back to full strength with five minutes remaining in the middle frame, where ASU would hold a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission.

Third Period:
The Falcons scored in 34 seconds to make it 3-2. ASU then punched back to extend its lead back to two goals just minutes later with a backhand shot from Crandell that snuck by the goalie to make it 4-2 Sun Devils.

With a little over two minutes remaining in the final period of play, and Air Force pulling their goalie to go empty net, Crandell added the insurance goal for ASU, his second goal of the night to bring the score to a 5-2 end result.

Game Notables

• ASU won its fifth straight game at home, which is a season-best streak for the team.
• After the win tonight, the Sun Devils are 7-4 when playing on Saturdays.
• The Sun Devils have improved the all-time series record against Air Force to 6-4.
• With two assists tonight and his seventh multi-assist game of the season, Cruz Lucius now leads the NCAA in both points (32) and assists (20).
• Since Nov. 8, Potter (12G, 8A) and Lucius’ (4G, 16A) 20 points are the most among Division I skaters in the last 13 games.
• Schimek recorded his 10th multi-point performance (1G, 1A) of the season and the 24th of his career. With his two points Schimek sits at 68 in his career, which is ninth in the program’s all-time recordbooks, passing Demetrios Koumontzis’ (2018-23) 67 points.
• The Sun Devils’ first line of Lucius-Potter-Schimek combined for six points (2G, 4A) and a +3 plus/minus.
• Logan Morrell recorded the 30th point of his career on ASU’s third goal of the game with 12:13 in the second period. 
• Crandell’s two third-period goals mark the first multi-goal game of his career and the second by a freshman this season, joining Ben Kevan.
• Senior goaltender Connor Hasley recorded 33 saves in net, which marked his ninth time this season with 30+ saves. Hasley is 6-3 in such games and improves to 7-6 overall this season. 

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Greg Powers
On winning three straight Desert Hockey Classic tournaments
“It’s cool. We’ve won five straight in-season tournaments. So now we have to move on and graduate to the postseason trophies and tournaments, that's what the goal is. But, it's a lot to be proud of to win our tournament three years in a row. Then you mix in the Ice Breaker, you mix in Lake Placid, the Adirondack Classic that we won, and even the Hall of Fame game against North Dakota. We've been spectacular in the in-season competitions when trophies are on the line and hopefully that parlays in the postseason.”

On gaining a winning record
“It’s awesome. I just told the guys how proud I was of them. We were 3-7-1 after the loss in North Dakota, and they took it to us there really good, beating us 5-2, but our guys have flipped the switch and not looked back since then. We've gone 8-and-3 against a really tough schedule. That's a good team. They just beat Michigan Tech 8-2. They're very good. They've got a good chance to win their league and play in an NCAA tournament. So yeah, we're above .500 for the first time all year and after our start, I think that says a lot about what we have in that room.”

On the improvement from the third line tonight
“It was way better. I thought they were really good. They managed pucks better, they got a big goal in the second period and could have had a couple more. I thought Mo (Logan Morrell) was going to score a short-handed goal there in the second (period) when it trickled through the guy and hit the post. We hit a couple of posts tonight and we just couldn't quite extend the lead. We felt we had a lot of really good chances there in the second to go up 4-1 or 5-1 and just didn't execute, but that line was good. That line was good, I thought the Whitehead (Braxton Whitehead) line was really good and we had production out of everybody tonight. Really proud of Melo (Carmelo Crandell) for popping that big one for us to extend the lead back to two in the third, and it was a good, solid team win.

Senior Captain Bennett Schimek
On overcoming a tough first half schedule
“Honestly, you’re not thinking about it too much when you’re in that gauntlet. We’re playing great teams every weekend. In our league, there’s no off nights no matter who you’re playing. It’s just a game-by-game approach for us and we’re able to have success throughout.”

On tonight’s power play units
“We got one on both units, and both were clicking. When I have (Cruz) Lucius and (Cullen) Potter in both flanks and they can rip one, it’s just giving it to a good player. The other units are doing good as well. They’re moving the puck well and they have a good netfront.”

Arizona State Freshman Forward Carmelo Crandell
On the freshman group continuing to improve
“It’s nice, Ben (Kevan) I played in the same league for the past two years, and Braxton (Whitehead) is another Canadian guy who played in the WHL, we have grown together, we’re living together, going to school together. We have a nice tight bond and it is cool to see us continue to grow as each game goes on.”

On his first goal of the night
“It feels good. In a game like that, you want to stop them from gaining momentum. It was a well-timed goal that gave us some momentum back, which was good for the team’s energy.”