Forward Chris Blessing leads the puck around Minot State goal. ASU defeated Minot State 5-3 on Nov. 13, 2014 at Oceanside Arena. (Photo by Mario Mendez)No. 2 ASU (17-2) had not lost two straight games since the 2012-13 season but came into Thursday night's game against No. 12 Minot State (10-7) coming off a loss.
However, thanks to a 5-3 come from behind victory over the Beavers, ASU still has not lost consecutive games in that time period.
ASU, who lost 6-3 Sunday to Stony Brook after allowing six unanswered goals, looked to avoid falling into the same traps.
Just like Sunday, ASU got off to a hot start in scoring the game’s first two goals and dominating possession of the puck.
Junior defenseman Jordan Young got things started with his first goal of the season, knocking in a rebound off the shot by sophomore forward Tommy Cooney to give ASU the early lead. Minutes later the Sun Devils scored again, this time with the goal coming off the stick of junior forward Kyle Bowen.
“Oh, it was good to finally get (my first goal),” Young said.
The hot start was impressive from the Sun Devils, who come on a quick four-day turnaround after a recent stretch of six games over ten days.
“Other than a clear lapse of focus in the first (period) by a couple guys and a lack of discipline, I was happy,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “We kept things simple, we got pucks deep, played our game. They had a lot of trouble with us.”
Minot State rebounded and took control of the game in the latter half of the opening period, leveling the game at two goals apiece. The Beavers got on the board by taking advantage of a poor turnover in ASU’s offensive zone, which forward Brett Nespor quickly deposited into the back of the net.
The Beavers scored again with 4:57 remaining in the period, this time with forward Brett McNevin fooling ASU sophomore goaltender Robert Levin with his no-look, backhanded shot.
Minot State looked to be running away with things early in the second period, as the Beavers took their first lead with 18:43 left in the period on a goal by defenseman Eric Bollefer.
Defender Drew Newmeyer’s break away shot is blocked by Minot Sate Goalie Riley Hengen. ASU defeated Minot State 5-3 on Nov. 13, 2014 at Oceanside Arena.? (Photo by Mario Mendez)ASU came right back however, as sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt found himself alone with Beavers goaltender Riley Hengen and scored to tie things up just 22 seconds after Minot State took the lead.
The remainder of the second period turned sloppy, as both sides exchanged and killed off seven penalties before going into the intermission tied 3-3.
Young helped keep things clean, maintaining the fluidity of a very choppy game.
“When there’s a game like that, it gets real choppy and you got to get back to the fundamentals and back to the basics so I think that’s what we were trying to do,” he said.
ASU struggled on power plays all night, going just one for eight in such situations despite being presented with multiple prime opportunities.
“There was just no consistency,” Powers said. “One (power play) unit would move it around and keep things full and put pucks on net, and then the other (unit) would go out and we’d have poor puck support down low. (Minot State) did a great job on the (penalty) kill too.”
Where the power play struggled, the penalty kill shined for the Sun Devils. Despite giving up a power play goal early in the second period, ASU played well in killing off two separate five on three opportunities.
“Our (penalty) kill was really good,” Powers said. “I think that (Minot State’s) power play goal was pretty flukey, it went off two of our guys. I thought our kill was great, they did a very good job.”
Mike Cummings wrestles with Minot State opposition for the puck. ASU defeated Minot State 5-3 on Nov. 13, 2014 at Oceanside Arena. (Photo by Mario Mendez)Both sides continued to muddle their way through sloppy play into the third period, as Minot State killed off three penalties to keep things tied.
After sophomore forward Eric Rivard went to the penalty box for interference, the ASU offense finally clicked. Sophomore defenseman Drew Newmeyer got the puck near center ice and fired a shot on goal, and sophomore forward Sean Murphy snagged the rebound to go top shelf and score the go-ahead goal.
“I just followed the play up,” Murphy said. “I saw (Drew Newmeyer) was going to put a shot on net, so I kind of just went for a rebound and it popped right to me. The goalie seemed to have lost the puck so I just kind of slipped it in.”
The Sun Devils got insurance in the final seconds, as sophomore forward Ryan Belonger scored on an empty net for the final score of 5-3.
ASU hosts No. 12 Minot State again on Friday night, with the puck drop expected for 7:30 p.m. from Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.
ADDITIONAL NOTES: - With their power play goal in the final minute, the Sun Devils extended their streak of games with a power play goal to four.
- Ryan Belonger’s empty net goal was the first empty-netter for ASU this season.
- The last time ASU lost consecutive games came in the spring of 2013 in a road series against Minot State.
- ASU swept Minot State on the road in their only prior meetings this season. ASU defeated Minot State in the semifinals of last year’s ACHA national championships.
- Sophomore defender Troy Hoban will not play on Friday night due to a family matter. To fill up his spot on an already injury-plagued lineup, ASU is expected to call up a player from their Division II team.
THREE STARS
Third Star: Kyle Bowen, ASU (one goal)
Second Star: Jordan Young, ASU (one goal)
First Star: Sean Murphy, ASU (GW goal)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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