ASU hockey beats Arizona, team back at full strength

Sophomore forward David Norris celebrates after scoring a goal against Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 7-2. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)

TUCSON – No. 1 ASU (32-3-1) hockey defeated No. 25 Arizona (11-21-3) in the first game of their final series of the semester.

After two weeks without six key players, ASU needed to find the same chemistry it has dominated with all season. That was what the first period was all about.

The opening period was brutal for ASU as the team struggled to not only score but also keep control of the puck. There were many strong strategies that were executed poorly.

Arizona was the first on the scoreboard early in the opening period with a goal from right wing Alex Nespor off the assist from forward Roy Grandov.

Shortly after that goal, ASU sophomore left wing Eric Rivard and Arizona forward Orion Olsen got into a scuffle and took each other to the ground. Both players and Arizona defenseman Nick Hinsberg, who took part, were sent to the box for roughing.

Arizona was unable to capitalize on its brief power play after ASU sophomore right wing Michael Cummings was sent to the box for interference. This power play was cut short when Arizona defenseman Matthew Nowicki was sent to the box giving ASU a 13 second power play that it could not take advantage of because of struggling to keep the puck on its sticks.

The opening period ended with a great save that cost ASU a goal. ASU freshman defenseman Gianni Mangone had a incredible dive that saved a potential breakaway Arizona goal but was sent to the box for 4 minutes for hooking and checking. Arizona was able to capitalize on this power play and took the 2-0 lead with a goal from Nowicki off the assist from right wing John Hogan.

ASU went into the middle period down two and Arizona started with a 53 second power play.

All it took was one period and ASU returned for the second with a renewed chemistry.

Early in the middle period, Arizona defenseman Shane Gleason was sent to the box for tripping, giving ASU a power play it was able to capitalize on. ASU senior forward Liam Norris gave ASU its first goal of the night while on the power play.

As usual, the middle period was full of strong shots and great saves from ASU sophomore goalie Robert Levin.

It didn’t take long for ASU to tie the game up 2-2 with a goal from junior forward Coda Engbar off the assists from senior forward Faiz Khan and sophomore forward Sean Murphy.

The Sun Devils continued with strong performances and took the 3-2 lead with its third goal of the period scored by junior center Kyle Bowen off the assist from Cummings, but Arizona made sure they would not go into the middle period trailing.

Arizona tied up the game with the last goal of the period scored by Grandov off the assists from Nespor and forward Alex O'dea. The Wildcats were unable to capitalize on their final power play of the season after freshman forward Connor Mailey was sent to the box for tripping.

With one period remaining, the teams went into the last 20 minutes with a 3-3 tie.

The Sun Devils made sure they were first on the scoreboard in this period too as they pushed ahead with a goal from sophomore left wing Eric Rivard assisted by Murphy.

This final period was full of just as many penalties as the previous too. Including one minute where ASU was down two men.

Halfway through the last period, ASU defenseman Jordan Young was sent to the box for interference and just 1 minute later Bowen joined him for holding. Not only was ASU able to keep Arizona from scoring, the Sun Devils had a very close goal. Junior forward Patrick Yudez broke away with the puck for what everyone thought was going to be the Sun Devils’ fifth goal of the night but was tripped right in front of the next.

With some additional strong saves from Levin, ASU was able to hold its 4-3 lead late in the final period. That was until they took the 5-3 lead with a Norris brothers goal. Sophomore forward David Norris put the puck top shelf off the assist from his brother, Liam Norris.

David Norris was sent to the box for unsportsmanlike conduct following that goal but Arizona was unable to capitalize on that power play, leaving the final score 5-3.

The Sun Devils and Wildcats will battle it out again on Saturday night in Tucson at 7:30 p.m.

Three Stars