Freshman defender Gianni Mangone takes a shot against West Chester University onSept. 27 at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. ASU defeated West Chester 9-0. (Photo by Ben Moffat)
No. 2 ASU battled injuries Friday night but still managed to do the same thing they've done 14 times already this season: win the game.
The Sun Devils (15-1) beat Rutgers 4-3 on Friday night, taking the Scarlet Knights' (3-7) best effort and coming out victorious in the opener in a three-game road set.
The key statistic in helping ASU to victory? The Sun Devils converted two of five power play opportunities, enough to put them over the hump.
ASU managed to get on the board late in a hotly contested first period, as sophomore forward Michael Cummings scored a power play goal with 1:12 remaining in the opening period to open up a 1-0 lead. Cummings played Friday for the first time since sustaining a deep thigh bruise against Colorado last Thursday.
Rutgers opened the second period by knotting things up at a goal apiece, as forward Shota Okajima took the assist from Rob Bolinder and scored with 16:43 left in the period.
ASU would put together back-to-back goals to give themselves a 3-1 lead, the second of which came off the stick of freshman forward Connor Mailey with 8:12 remaining in the second period.
The Scarlet Knights would not go away as the game entered the third period, with forward Jake Pyhel finishing his chance to cut the ASU lead to 3-2 with 15:45 remaining.
The power play benefitted ASU again, this time with sophomore forward Eric Rivard slamming it home to extend the lead to 4-2 with 9:06 remaining.
Rutgers continued the comeback push with a goal from forward Andrew Koslov with 1:56 left to cut the lead to one. That, however, was as close as they'd get, as despite pulling the goaltender Rutgers was unable to get the tying shot on net.
Additional notes:
- ASU outshot the Scarlet Knights 36-29, their closest margin in a single game this season.
- ASU remained at No. 2 in Friday's newest ACHA national rankings. Stony Brook, who ASU plays Saturday and Sunday, moved from No. 5 to No. 6.
- The Sun Devils were plagued by injuries to say the least. ASU was missing the following players: sophomore forward Ryan Ostertag, sophomore forward Patrick Yudez, sophomore defenseman Alex Temby, freshman defenseman Gianni Mangone and freshman forward Jared Morris.
- Prior to Friday's game against Rutgers, conflicting reports surfaced about the ASU hockey team's future in the ACHA. Let's Play Hockey posted on their official Twitter Friday afternoon that the Sun Devil Hockey team would be making a move from the club level to the NCAA after the 2016-17 season, moving the team from Oceanside Ice Arena to Wells Fargo Arena in the process.
Team sources denied the report, saying nothing in the tweets was true and that the team has not announced any formal plans to move to the NCAA in the near future. ASU also announced that they will be having a press conference in response to the reports some time this week.
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Shota Okajima, Rutgers (one goal, one assist)
Second Star: Michael Cummings, ASU (one goal)
First Star: Eric Rivard, ASU (GW goal)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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