What could be better than a win over rival UA on a Friday evening?
Doing it all over again Saturday.
The ASU men's hockey club did just that last weekend when they hosted the Icecats for a two-game series at Oceanside Arena.
The Sun Devils (15-5) won decisively on Friday 4-2 and treated a standing-room only crowd to a 5-4 overtime win Saturday.
"We had some breakdowns in the final period, but we found a way to win," said ASU coach Mike De Angelis about Saturday's game. "Finding a way to win in overtime is the sign of a good team."
On Saturday, ASU took an early lead in the first period on a short-handed goal by freshman forward Joe Ahern and a rebound goal by junior forward Kelsey Johnston. Sophomore forward Tony Biffignani scored on a power play to extend the second-period lead to three goals.
UA junior defenseman D.J. Pelletier scored two goals in 20 seconds and ASU freshman forward Paul Chadwick scored with 15 seconds remaining, ending the second period 4-2.
UA scored two goals in the final four minutes of the third period, sending the game to overtime.
ASU sophomore forward P.J. Nelson scored the game-winning goal in the second minute of overtime, clearing the Sun Devil bench for a center-ice celebration.
"We let them back into the game in the second period," said De Angelis, whose team out-shot UA 50-26. "We played as well as we needed to win the game."
ASU climbed from No. 13 to No. 11 on the American Collegiate Hockey Association poll Friday, practically clinching a spot in the 16-team national invitational tournament.
Only two games remain before the final rankings are released Feb. 19 -- both at home against No. 9 Weber State this weekend.
"Weber State is a very good team," De Angelis said. "We'll have our hands full, but we finally have them in our building after traveling there a couple of times this season."
The Sun Devils have split the season series so far with Weber State and are still seeking redemption after last year's national tournament-ending loss to the Icecats.
"These next two home games against them are really important because they're the last two games before the final rankings come out," De Angelis said. "So that's real big for us.
"I'm hoping that if we have a good weekend against Weber State that we may be able to get into the top 10."
The top 16 teams will be invited to Bensenville, Ill., in March to compete for the national title. ASU looks to improve on last year's showing when it finished 0-2, losing to Weber State and Ohio.
Reach the reporter at michael.fowler@asu.edu.
