After a clean break away, with no assist, sophomore forward Mike Cummings scores in a home game against UA on Oct 10, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)ASU got knocked down Thursday night with its first loss of the season but on Friday night the Sun Devils got back up.
The No. 1 Sun Devils (9-1) returned to form after their first loss of the season to Central Oklahoma on Thursday, making quick and easy work of the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners (6-4) in a 5-2 road win Friday night.
ASU got on the board first in a busy first period for both sides as the Sun Devil attack flew down the ice and converted on a three-on-one break, with senior forward Liam Norris getting assists from junior forward Ryan Belonger and freshman forward Connor Mailey as he slotted the goal past senior goaltender Colin Fernandes for the 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later the Sooners scored a goal of their own, as junior defenseman Mason Miller beat sophomore goaltender Robert Levin to knot things up at a goal apiece with over nine minutes remaining in the opening period.
Just seconds before the end of the period ASU found the back of the net, this time taking advantage of a bad turnover in the Oklahoma zone.
Junior defender Cory Ramsey tried getting rid of the puck from the point only to pass it right to Belonger, who found sophomore forward Mike Cummings for the easy finish and a 2-1 lead.
ASU rode the momentum early in the second period, as back-to-back Sooner penalties gave the Sun Devils a two-man advantage and the majority of the possession.
ASU scored again, this time with Norris and Belonger setting up sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt from the blue line to put the Sun Devils up 3-1.
Oklahoma looked to be getting back into things midway through the second period, as junior forward Senate Patton slapped a shot past Levin as he was falling down to cut the ASU lead to just one goal.
The Sun Devil attack was quick to respond and attack again, as Liam Norris scored again after Mailey found him on a nifty one-timer that Fernandes had no shot of saving.
Mailey broke through again minutes later, finding himself on the breakaway and scoring backhanded for his first goal of the night and the 5-2 lead.
Throughout the third period the Sun Devils dominated the possession of the puck, generating several opportunities and clearly looking like the dominant team on the ice despite not being able to score again.
ASU plays the Sooners again on Saturday afternoon trying to go two for three on the road trip, with the puck drop set for 3 p.m. Arizona time.
Freshman forward Connor Mailey jukes UA opposition at a home game on Oct 11, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Schmidt scored on the power play for the second straight night, giving him sole possession of first place on the team in power play goals (six). The next-closest leading scorer in those situations is Belonger with four goals.
- The third period Friday night was the first period in any ASU game this season in which neither team scored a goal.
- After letting in three goals in relief duty on Thursday night, Levin was stellar Friday in allowing just two goals despite a heavy Oklahoma onslaught early on.
- With the loss, Oklahoma has now lost three of their last four games. The Sooners dropped in the most recent ACHA rankings (which, while released Friday afternoon, did not reflect Thursday night's scores) from No. 3 to No. 5 in the nation.
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Connor Mailey, ASU (one goal, two assists)
Second Star: Ryan Belonger, ASU (three assists)
First Star: Liam Norris, ASU (two goals, one assist)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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