ASU forward Michael Cummings battles for the puck with Stony Brook's Joseph Bochichio behind the net on Jan. 22, 2015, at Oceanside Arena in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)The No. 1 ASU hockey team (31-3-1) stayed undefeated the whole weekend after defeating No. 21 Colorado State (16-18-3) and sweeping No. 18 Colorado (11-14-2) in a two-game series.
After a game with not one penalty last night, the first penalty of the night was called quite early in the opening period when Colorado forward Andrew Bradford was sent to the box for tripping for two minutes.
ASU was unable to capitalize on this power play but for the first time all weekend, the Sun Devils were the first on the scoreboard with a goal from freshman forward Mak Barden off the assists from senior forward Faiz Khan and sophomore forward Tommy Cooney.
Not only was ASU the first on the scoreboard, the Sun Devils took the 2-0 lead late in the opening period with a goal from senior forward Liam Norris off the assists from sophomore forwards David Norris and Eric Rivard.
The Buffaloes made sure they were on the scoreboard before the end of the opening period with an unassisted goal off the glass from forward Thomas Jarman.
The first period ended with the Sun Devils leading 2-1.
The middle period opened with some great scoring opportunities for both teams but strong defense as well.
The Sun Devils were able to get the first goal of the middle period as well after Liam Norris took another goal off the assist from his brother, David Norris.
Shortly after, ASU thought it would take the 4-1 lead with a goal from sophomore forward Michael Cummings off the assist from freshman forward Connor Mailey but the net got knocked off.
With no penalties in the second period, ASU led 3-1 at the end.
The final period started off quite slow but picked up. ASU was the first with the goal in this period with a goal from Liam Norris, his third of this night, off the assist from David Norris again.
Another penalty was called during the final period with some 4-on-4 hockey after Mailey and Colorado defenseman Johnny Dora were sent to the box.
Late in the final period, ASU was able to score another two goals before the end of the game.
The first goal was scored with three minutes left to play unassisted by freshman defenseman Gianni Mangone giving the Sun Devils the 5-1 lead.
The last goal of the night was from junior forward Coda Engbar off the assists from junior forward Kory Chisholm and sophomore forward Patrick Yudez giving ASU the final score of 6-1 against the Buffaloes.
ASU swept Colorado 2-0 giving them a 3-0 win this weekend.
The Sun Devils’ next game will be the Arizona Coyotes Alumni Charity game on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Gila River Arena.
The last game before the tournament begins will be another two-game series against No. 22 Arizona (11-19-3) on Feb. 20 and 21 in Tucson at 7:30 p.m.
Three Stars:
Robert Levin, ASU (1 GA, 26 saves – 96%)
David Norris, ASU (three assists)
Liam Norris, ASU (three goals – hat trick)
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow @katlynewenson Twitter.
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