UA goalie Dylan Hojnacki, narrowly blocks ASU forward Chriss Blessing’s shot, assist from forward Sean Murphy at a home game against UA on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 in Tempe. UA was shutdown by ASU 3-0. (Photo by Mario Mendez)Coach Greg Powers hit another major milestone Friday night, as No. 1 ASU (21-2) won for the 150th time under their coach by a score of 6-0 against No. 20 UA (9-9-3).
The Cactus Cup win made things even sweeter for Powers, who moved to 42-1 against the Wildcats all-time as ASU coach.
Things got off to a hot start for the Sun Devils, as they got on the board early after sophomore forward Kory Chisholm scored off of an assist from Kyle Bowen to go up 1-0. Just a minute later sophomore forward Sean Murphy added to the tally, knocking in the rebound off of the Drew Newmeyer shot.
ASU would score again before the end of the opening period, as the Sun Devils got a lucky bounce that sophomore forward Ryan Belonger got just across the goal line to extend the 3-0 lead.
UA stepped up the level of play in the second period, creating a fairly even level of play and generating several opportunities to test sophomore goaltender Robert Levin.
The even play eventually boiled over into frustration, as in the final minutes of the second a fight broke out near the UA goal. The result saw UA forward Robbie Wilkinson and ASU sophomore defenseman Connor Schmidt on the ice with each side throwing punches.
Schmidt and Wilkinson were given game misconducts and ejected from the game. Both are expected to be suspended for Saturday's series finale.
ASU turned on the offense again in the third, as Bowen took an assist from freshman forward Jared Morris to score and put the Sun Devils up 4-0. Moments later senior forward Liam Norris added to the total to put the game out of reach.
Murphy picked up his second goal of the game in garbage time, getting the assist from Norris with 4:40 left.
With the exception of a fairly even second period, ASU dominated Friday from the outset, controlling possession and getting virtually all of the scoring opportunities.
No. 1 ASU faces off against No. 20 UA again on Saturday at Tucson Convention Center. Puck drop is expected to be at 7:30 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Levin picked up his fifth shutout of the year in the 6-0 win Friday, which leads the entire ACHA.
- ASU has now outscored UA 14-1 over the three games the two teams have played this year. UA has not beaten ASU since the Sun Devils' Senior Night last spring.
- This UA's second-biggest loss of the year. The Wildcats lost 8-0 to Liberty in their first home game of the 2014-15 season.
- UA switched goaltenders from Garrett Patrick to Austin Wilson at the beginning of the third period. Both goaltenders gave up three goals.
- Saturday's game will be the final game of the first semester of the ACHA season. Sophomore forwards Ryan Ostertag and Patrick Yudez, along with freshman defenseman Gianni Mangone, are all expected to return from injury at the beginning of the second semester. ASU will also add senior Faiz Kahn to the roster starting with the second semester.
THREE STARS:
Third Star: Liam Norris, ASU (one goal, one assist)
Second Star: Robert Levin, ASU (0 GA)
First Star: Sean Murphy, ASU (Two goals, one assist)
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @fardaya15
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