It’s not every night that a player gets a chance at the game-winning goal and game-winning save, but Monday was a special night for freshman forward Ryan Ostertag.
Ostertag’s third-period goal was enough to lift the No. 1 ASU hockey team over No. 4 Iowa State 5-1, and he even saved a game-tying goal in the same period.
The Cyclones (16-4-1) managed to get ASU senior goalie Joe D’Elia out of position on a breakaway attempt and had a shot at an empty net. Ostertag came in, got his skate down and saved a shot that would have tied the game.
“That might be my first save ever,” Ostertag said. “I don’t know what I was doing in the crease, but it worked out well. ... My first instinct was to jump in the net I guess, and I kind of just got down on a knee and luckily it hit me.”
D’Elia said he didn’t see the play, but was appreciative nonetheless.
“It definitely helped out my goals against (average) and save percentage there,” D’Elia said.
That save came after Ostertag gave the Sun Devils (20-0-0) the lead with a goal of his own. With a 1-1 tie in the third period, Ostertag caught a cross-ice pass from sophomore forward Chris Blessing and was alone in the attacking zone. He faked a shot to the left post, then wrapped in the puck to give ASU a 2-1 lead.
To cap off the highlight reel night, Ostertag was in front of the net flanked by freshman forward Zack Holstrom. Ostertag dished out a behind-the-back no-look pass to Holstrom, who gave the Sun Devils their fourth goal.
In essence, the night belonged to Ostertag.
“He’s a hell of a player,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “It was a matter of time before he broke out I think and showed everyone how good he is. He’s flying out there, he’s found his confidence, he’s realizing how important he could be to us and how much he can mean to our success and he played like it tonight.”
Ostertag earned the team's hard hat, which symbolizes the game's hardest worker and player of the game.
"It's my first time with the hat, so it's always an honor to have the team hat like this and being recognized by my teammates," he said.
Despite Ostertag’s big night, it was senior forward Troy Scott who put the Sun Devils on the board first by scoring just four minutes into the game. Sophomore forward Kory Chisholm set it up from behind the net, wheeling the puck to Scott between the faceoff circles. Scott took the one-timer and put it in the net for his fourth goal of the season.
That was it for scoring in the first period. Both teams had good chances, including an ISU two-on-one that the Cyclones failed to convert. ASU held onto a 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
While the first period had some back-and-forth action, the second period was the polar opposite. The only real scoring chance of the frame was an ISU 1-on-1 with D’Elia. The Sun Devil netminder shouldered the puck away to squelch the opportunity. The Cyclones went on the power play with 1:10 left, which would carry onto the final period.
The return of play after the second intermission was also the return of the scoring. As ASU sophomore defenseman Jordan Young’s penalty from the second period expired, ISU senior forward Mark Huber collected the puck, swerved through the ASU defense glove-side to tie the game at 1.
“We had a bit of a lull there in the middle of the game, but that’s the fourth-ranked team in the country,” Powers said. “They’re going to get there chances and they did.”
Then Ostertag took over, and the Sun Devils cruised to their 5-1 win. Senior forward Danny McAuliffe added a wrap-around goal with 22 seconds left in the game to complete the scoring.
The Sun Devils and Cyclones match up again Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at justin.emerson@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @J15Emerson
