ASU freshman defender Gianni Mangone and Liam Slyne of Colorado fight for the puck at Oceanside Arena in Tempe on Oct. 30, 2014.?? ASU won against Colorado 2-1. (Photo by Stephanie Specht)On the eve of Halloween, ASU hockey managed to escape a scare in a 2-1 overtime win over the Colorado Golden Buffaloes at Oceanside Ice Arena Thursday night.
The Sun Devils (12-1) were forced to grind out another tough win, opening up a three-game home stand.
In making his first career appearance Thursday night, freshman goaltender Jordan Gluck showed some early signs of jitters. He was jumpy at times when it came to leaving his net and ran into issues dumping the puck to teammates, which the Golden Buffaloes (6-3) took advantage of.
It took just 53 seconds for Colorado to jump on one of Gluck’s mistakes, as Gluck went out too far on a loose puck and left the net wide open. Gluck tried getting the puck to a teammate only to have it intercepted by right winger Kirk Van Arkel, who slotted it home for the early Buffs lead.
After giving up the goal, however, Gluck appeared to get comfortable and rebounded with a great overall performance.
“I just knew that (Colorado) hadn’t scored on me, I had pretty much scored on myself,” Gluck said. “I just had to keep doing what I was doing, and I’d be fine.”
For ASU coach Greg Powers, Gluck’s performance was great given the fact that it was his first live-action game in two years.
“That’s the first live game (Jordan Gluck)’s played in almost two years,” Powers said. “There’s going to be nerves, and that’s what that first goal was. He had a good week of practice, but he’s a kid that has a good pedigree so he pulled it together and made some big saves in a game that nobody expected to be that close.”
No. 2 ASU came out with energy after having last weekend off, but looked out of sync and were unable to put together any serious chances. Despite putting 14 shots on net in the opening period, few seemed to really have a shot at going in.
“We had a weird, shaky start tonight,” Powers said. “We had a good week of practice, so I don’t think anybody saw (the close game) coming.”
After failing to convert on their first two power play opportunities, ASU finally tied things up with 7:03 remaining in the opening period after senior forward Liam Norris found a wide open Ryan Belonger off the boards, and Belonger put together a wrist shot into the empty net.
Both sides played out a very physical second period, as each side went to the box multiple times. While ASU outshot the Buffs in the period 17-9, neither side appeared to take control.
ASU sophomore forward Michael Cummings took a big hit in the period, and after getting up and back to the bench appeared to be in a lot of pain. Cummings sat on the bench with his helmet off for a few shifts, then went to the locker room. He would not return.
Both sides ground their way through another tough period in the third, as both sides put together chances but neither seemed able to put the final touches on a goal. Play was particularly impressive between Gluck and Colorado goaltender Matt Lechner, who finished the night with 40 saves.
ASU sophomore defender Drew Newmeyer leads the fight for the puck at Oceanside Arena in Tempe on Oct. 30, 2014.?? ASU won against Colorado 2-1. (Photo by Stephanie Specht)The Buffs forced ASU to their first home overtime session of the season, nearing the brink of a massive upset.
ASU would dash any upset hopes just 40 seconds into overtime, as Norris found a streaking Belonger down the ice and found him. Belonger had a wide open breakaway and converted without hesitation to score his second of the night and give ASU a 2-1 win.
“I just knew I had to bury it,” Belonger said. “The game was just on my stick. I knew (the game) had to end and get this over with.”
In giving up just the one goal and finishing with 23 saves, it marked the continuation of what has been a two-year journey back into game action for Gluck.
“(The result) was really just rewarding,” he said. “That’s what I wanted coming into this game: to kind of make all my hard work seem worth it.”
ASU hosts No. 25 Colorado State (8-3), who is coming off of a 3-2 overtime win over No. 17 UA Thursday night. Puck drop is expected for 7:30 p.m.
Additional notes:
- In assessing the status of sophomore forward Michael Cummings, Powers concluded that Cummings had a “deep thigh bruise” and is likely out for the rest of the weekend.
- This was ASU’s first home overtime game this season. They won their only other overtime game 3-2 against Oklahoma.
- This was ASU’s lowest overall scoring game this season, with three goals between the two sides.
- Sophomore Jarrod Levos, listed as a defenseman, saw some time as a right winger on the fourth line Saturday.
THREE STARS
Third Star: Jordan Gluck, ASU (1 GA, 23 saves)
Second Star: Matt Lechner, Colorado (2 GA, 40 saves)
First Star: Ryan Belonger, ASU (two goals, including GW goal in OT)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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