The ASU club hockey team motored on after a minor hiccup Friday night.
The No. 10 Sun Devils (5-0-1) fell to No. 3 Oklahoma (8-4) in a shootout before rebounding for a big win against the Sooners on Saturday.
ASU was outplayed on Friday, but solid goaltending by senior Mark Schacker and some timely goals nearly catapulted the Sun Devils to a victory. The Sooners threw everything they had at Schacker, outshooting the Sun Devils 49 to 33.
It took a lucky bounce for OU to finally beat Schacker for a third time and knot the score. A centering pass from OU senior forward Justin King ricocheted into the net off the skate of ASU junior forward Dan Styrna. King had a brilliant weekend for Oklahoma, scoring four goals and adding another in the shootout.
The Sun Devils were up a pair of goals heading into the third period of Friday’s competition, but the Sooners’ relentless forecheck had ASU running around in its own zone all night.
ASU senior Chris Vassos and freshman Colin Hekle each scored their first goals of the young season for the Sun Devils. Senior forward Joe Schweiger also scored to become the first 100-goal scorer in Sun Devil history, but King was just too much for ASU to handle.
The Sun Devils missed both of their opportunities in the shootout, while the Sooners buried both of theirs for the victory.
Injured Sun Devil freshman defenseman James Iwaszkiw attributed ASU’s loss to their inability to do the dirty work.
“We didn’t do enough to win,” Iwaszkiw said.
ASU assistant coach Rick Klein wasn’t worried about Saturday night after watching his team go down in the shootout.
“I think the kids will come out hungry,” Klein said before the game.
The Sun Devils looked like a brand new team on Saturday. ASU coach Greg Powers was forced to get creative after senior forward Joe Schweiger came down with the flu and was unable to play. Powers made multiple changes to the line-up in an attempt to spark his team.
It was junior Marc Wilhite who stole the show as the forward netted a pair of goals and recorded an assist. Wilhite gave a lot of credit to his line mates.
“I’m just lucky to be playing with Pat Rogan and Troy Scott,” Wilhite said.
Rogan, a sophomore forward, tripled his production on the season, going from two points to six in just one game. He scored the sixth and final goal of the night and had an assist on three others. Powers has not been shy about praising Rogan since he became a Sun Devil, and after Saturday’s victory, Powers believes he “finally found a couple of kids to play with him.”
ASU might have played its most complete game of the season as they defeated the Sooners 6-3.
“Everyone pulled their weight,” Powers said.
The Sun Devils certainly made their case to crack the top five in this week’s American Collegiate Hockey Association Rankings.
“We wanted to prove to the country that we weren’t a one man team,” Powers said.
ASU outshot OU 46-26 in the second game, as they proved to OU just how real they were, with or without Schweiger, who Powers called “the best player in the country.”
It will need to stay that way with No. 12 Rhode Island (6-0) making the voyage to Tempe this weekend. The teams square off at 7:15 p.m Friday and 6:15 p.m Saturday as ASU looks to keep its hot start going.
Reach the reporter at nlicalzi@asu.edu
