ASU hockey coach Greg Powers believes he has all the pieces to the puzzle of being a national championship team.
In Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners (6-5), which capped off a tough three game road stretch, it looked like No. 1 ASU (10-1) is getting closer to solving that puzzle.
Powers tinkered with lineups yet again and found immediate success with the new combination.
ASU started things off with a bang, taking less than two minutes to get on the board in the first period. It was sophomore forward Eric Rivard on the receiving end of the potent Sun Devil attack, taking the Liam Norris pass and finishing to give ASU the 1-0 lead.
The Sooners showed their grit throughout the remainder of the period, taking repeated attacks from the ASU offense and staying afloat through the great play of senior goaltender Colin Fernandes.
After killing off back-to-back penalties, Oklahoma finally broke through with an attack of their own. After sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt went to the box for ASU, the Sooners finally broke through to tie the game at 1-1 on a goal from junior defenseman Cory Ramsey with 7:13 left in the period.
The Sun Devil attack came back again in the second period, as captain Brett Blomgren found junior defenseman Jordan Young from the point. Young's shot was tipped in by sophomore forward Tommy Cooney to give ASU the 2-1 lead with 13:52 left in the second.
Oklahoma created its share of chances in a fairly even second period, including a dominating stretch of play towards the end of the session. After a holding penalty on sophomore forward Alex Temby with seconds remaining, the Sooners missed a great chance to equalize after their last-second shot ricocheted off of the post.
The Sooners continued the battle into the third period, and finally were rewarded with 1:24 remaining after senior forward Darrell Boldon's shot slipped just under the glove of Levin to knot things up and send the game into overtime.
Sophomore forward Mike Cummings emerged as the hero for ASU in overtime, taking the pass from sophomore forward Sean Murphy and finishing with 3:39 left in the period to seal the overtime win.
It was a gratifying way for the weekend to end for ASU, which saw their first defeat of the season at the hands of No. 3 Central Oklahoma on Thursday.
No. 1 ASU returns home Thursday to face No. 9 Liberty at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. The opening puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- This was ASU's first overtime game of the season after not losing a single game outside of regulation during their 2013-14 national championship run.
- No. 5 Oklahoma has now lost three games in a row, and four of their last five games overall. They have also lost their last four home games.
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Eric Rivard, ASU (one goal)
Second Star: Robert Levin, ASU (2 GA, 31 saves)
First Star: Mike Cummings, ASU (GW goal)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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