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)
With the end of the season in sight, the No. 1 ASU hockey team went into its second matchup with No. 2 Central Oklahoma looking to defeat the first of the three teams to have beat them this season, and that’s exactly what ASU (23-3) did.
Central Oklahoma (21-3-1) was the first on the scoreboard with a goal from right wing Brandon Harlet off the assist from left wing Gaven Hohl, but it didn’t take long for the Sun Devils to tie up the game.
With five minutes left in the first period, junior forward Ryan Belonger put ASU on the board with a goal, assisted by defenseman Connor Schmidt and forward Chris Blessing. There were some altercations after this goal, which led to a penalty against UCO’s Trevor Leblanc for cross checking. This was the perfect opportunity for the Sun Devils to score on a power play but they were not able to get the puck in the net.
At the end of the first period, ASU took a lead they would not lose. After a great steal from behind the net, sophomore forward David Norris passed it right to fellow forward Eric Rivard who sunk it in, pushing the Sun Devils ahead 2-1.
Norris and Rivard have great chemistry, which does not come as a surprise since they have played together for almost five years now, including three in the juniors.
“It stems from a pretty good natural chemistry, ASU coach Powers said. “This is their fifth year (playing together) that’s a huge advantage for us.”
Their natural chemistry really helped push ASU to victory with four goals and two assists together.
“I thought we played really well, Murphy said. “We dictated a play, we were all over them in the offensive zone from start to finish and I feel like we gave our team a lot of momentum today.”
ASU came out strong with the first goal of the second period. Off the assists from Norris and Ed McGovern, Murphy scored his first goal of the night, giving ASU a 3-1 lead.
Shortly after, UCO scored their second and last goal of the night thanks to Chad Roorda scoring, assisted by Trevor Yee. After this goal, the Sun Devils picked up the pace even more and ran away with the lead.
Sophomore goalie Robert Levin had an incredible night after that last UCO goal, with 22 total saves.
Toward the end of the second period, Murphy scored his second goal, assisted by Rivard and Schmidt. His goal left ASU with a comfortable 4-2 lead going into the final period.
The Sun Devils had an equally strong final period with another impressive goal from Murphy in the first two minutes, helping the Sun Devils run away with the lead.
ASU was able to capitalize on a power play after a penalty called against UCO for tripping. Sophomore forward Chris Burkemper was able to score his first goal of the night off the assist from Tommy Cooney. Cooney then went on to score ASU’s last goal of the night unassisted.
ASU was able to bounce back and beat UCO after a tough loss earlier this season against the Bronchos and last night against OU. This was the win they needed and are looking forward to taking on UCO again tomorrow night at 7:30 at Oceanside Ice Arena.
Three Stars:
Third Star: Robert Levin, ASU goaltender (Two GAA, 22 saves)
Second Star: Eric Rivard, ASU forward (Two goals)
First Star: Sean Murphy, ASU forward (Two goals, two assists)
Additional Notes:
- One of ASU’s three losses this season was to UCO in a 1-game series losing 7-4
- ASU beat UCO three times last season (4-2 and 4-1 away, 12-0 at home)
- With his goal tonight, Sean Murphy now has a 5-game point streak.
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @katlynewens
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