Forward Tommy Cooney shoots the puck in a game against the University of Illinois, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Fighting Illini 3-1. (Photo by Ben Moffat)It’s been a wild week for ASU hockey.
The No. 1 Sun Devils (20-2) finalized a weekend sweep of No. 12 Illinois (12-7) with a 3-1 win Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe, capping off an excitng week for the program as they announced Tuesday that they would be making the move to the NCAA level.
Like Friday’s 2-1 nail-biter, however, ASU came out and battled the Illini all night long. Tensions were high, even boiling over on a couple occasions.
“If you look at (Illinois’) season, nobody’s really beaten them by a lot,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “They split a lot. They lose a lot of close games, they win a lot of close games. They’re a good team.”
Both the Sun Devils and the Illini came out strong offensively, with each team generating multiple near-opportunities. Just as it appeared that one side was about to finish a chance, they suffered from either a poor bounce off the ice or had their shot go off target.
After battling for a majority of the first period and even having his shot on an empty net blocked, ASU sophomore forward Eric Rivard was finally rewarded for his effort. Rivard went hard towards the crease, finally knocking in the loose puck off of a shot by sophomore forward Sean Murphy to give ASU the lead with 3:23 left in the opening period.
ASU scored again midway through the second period, as Murphy took an entry pass from sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt and fired in the power play goal off the crossbar.
“I caught a couple guys flat-footed,” Murphy said. “They gave me a lot of space, so I just decided to take it, and then as soon as I crossed over the blue line I threw it on net. I think I caught (Illinois goaltender Joe Olen) off a little bit.”
Murphy’s goal was just a part of a great night overall for the first line, as he paired with Rivard to finish with five of the team’s seven overall points.
Forward Liam Norris fights for the puck in a game against the University of Illinois, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Fighting Illini 3-1. (Photo by Ben Moffat)“I just felt like we had a lot of chemistry,” Murphy said. “We were tracking the puck well, fore-checking well, and it just gave us opportunities. We capitalized on them.”
Illinois wouldn’t go down quietly, however, as they got on the board themselves just four minutes later. The Illini released a flurry of shots on net, and senior forward Jacob Matysiak knocked in the rebound to make it 2-1 going into the third period.
Drama broke out as both teams entered the second intermission, as it appeared that ASU sophomore defenseman Drew Newmeyer hit an Illini player along the boards after the buzzer sounded. The Illinois bench cleared onto the ice, hurling several insults towards Newmeyer and the ASU bench before officials ordered both teams to the locker rooms.
There was no harm done, however, in the eyes of Powers, who voiced his frustrations with the officiating.
“It was absolutely nothing,” he said. “(Drew Newmeyer) barely even touched the kid. It was a horrible call. But we’re getting a lot of those lately, so we’re used to it.
As Newmeyer’s defensive partner, Schmidt took notice of the scuffle.
“(Drew Newmeyer) is not the type of guy to do that, so it’s kind of funny at first,” Schmidt said. “I’ve been trying to stay out of trouble lately, so I slowly went over there but nothing really happened.”
Rivard’s effort was rewarded again in the third, as after both Schmidt and Murphy took shots on net Rivard managed to slap home the rebound for his second goal. He nearly got the hat trick, but was unable to get a solid shot off after getting loose on the breakaway.
The tension of the second period didn’t dissolve in the third, as both sides exchanged words after the final buzzer as ASU skated off with the victory.
Powers, who was frustrated with Friday night’s effort, was impressed at how hard both teams competed.
“I thought that we were way better (than last night) in every way,” he said. “The attention to detail was there tonight more than last night, and I thought the guys played hard.”
ASU will take next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday before traveling to Tucson two weeks from now to play its rival UA. The UA series is the final series for the Sun Devils before they take a month-long winter break.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Sean Murphy’s power play goal was the first for ASU on the weekend. ASU went one for five overall over the two games, converting their only opportunity on Saturday.
- Illinois junior goaltender Joe Olen was impressive again in net, picking up 35 saves and allowing three goals.
- This was the last home series of the first semester for ASU, cementing an undefeated record at home during the first half of the season.
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Robert Levin, ASU (1 GA, 26 saves)
Second Star: Eric Rivard, ASU (two goals)
First Star: Sean Murphy, ASU (one goal, two assists)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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