ASU’s goalie battle added another wrinkle Friday night.
Freshman Robert Levin made his second start of the season, and turned in a 15-shot shutout of the Weber State Wildcats in a 10-0 ASU win.
“The guys kept it real simple for me, I didn’t have to do much,” Levin said. “My job is easy, they clear the pucks, and offensively if I let up something, I know we’re going to score a goal."
Even without a perfect performance by Levin, ASU would have had more than enough offensive support to come away with the win.
Freshman forward Sean Murphy opened the scoring with a power-play snipe less than five minutes into the game, his fourth of the season to lead the team. The goal was assisted by senior forward Brian McGinty, who also added a goal later in the game to pad his team-leading point total, which now sits at eight.
Murphy’s goal opened the floodgates for another ASU blowout.
Last year’s leading scorer, senior forward Kale Dolinski found the back of the net twice, as did senior captain Colin Hekle. Five other Sun Devils scored a goal, giving the team its third double-digit scoring effort in as many games.
Coach Greg Powers said he was pleased with the way the team is playing together.
“We’re clicking," Powers said. "There’s good chemistry on every line.”
Each of the four starting lines scored a goal Friday night.
Despite Levin’s shutout, Powers said the goalie battle is not over. He said senior goaltender Joe D’Elia will start in net next Friday, citing his experience and leadership.
The Division II games are over for now. Next week, ASU takes on a WCHL conference rival, the No. 20 UA Wildcats.
Additional notes
– Levin played the whole game, and now leads all ASU goalies in ice time with 91:03.– Freshman forward Zach Holstrom added an assist late the game, giving him a team-high six.
– ASU has now outscored its opponents 33-2, and has outshot them 182-50.
– ASU experienced its longest scoring drought of the season, netting goals 23:40 away from each other between the second and third periods. The previous long was 17:22, stretching across the first and second period of last Saturday’s game against SDSU.
Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @J15Emerson
