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)The No. 1 ASU hockey team (28-3-1) dominated No. 22 Arizona (11-20) again on Saturday night with some amazing synergy from the Norris brothers.
The Sun Devils made sure they were first on the scoreboard with a goal in the first 15 seconds of the game. When the puck dropped, ASU took possession and sophomore forward Eric Rivard scored the first goal off the assists from sophomore forward David Norris and freshman defenseman Gianni Mangone.
Early in the opening period, Arizona's defenseman Kevin Golden was sent to the box for boarding giving ASU the power play, which they were unable to capitalize on.
Despite being unable to snatch the power play goal, Norris pushed ASU further ahead halfway through the opening period with a goal off the assists from Rivard and sophomore defenseman Drew Newmeyer.
The opening period had some great plays from both teams including an impressive interception from ASU freshman defenseman Liam Pues. The Wildcats had some strong shots on net but nothing was getting passed sophomore goalie Robert Levin. Arizona did think they were on the scoreboard late in the period but the goal was waved off by the officials.
The Norris brothers proved again tonight that the have great chemistry with two goals within the first 30 seconds of the second period. Both were scored by David Norris, giving him a hat trick, with assists from his brother, senior forward Liam Norris.
"It's worked so far. I think he kind of plays the same way as I do but he can score a little easier than I can," Liam said. "We are just having fun with it and it's just clicking."
After those back-to-back goals, Arizona took a timeout and came back in to the second period which much stronger defense making it very difficult for ASU to score. But that didn't stop the Sun Devils from sneaking in one goal during the period. Halfway through, ASU freshman forward Connor Mailey scored off the assist from junior forward Kyle Bowen pushing ASU ahead 6-0.
Senior forward Liam Norris skates with the puck in a game 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)ASU switched goalies late in the game giving Levin a break and sophomore goalie Lucas Felbel some playing time. The last time Felbel played during a game was back in October of last year.
"It was just the opportunity to get Lucas some playing time," ASU coach Greg Powers said. "Rob's had a heck of a stretch with a lot of hockey. We have a three game weekend next weekend, so he'll see a lot of time. Just getting him some rest."
The Wildcats went on the power play in the middle of the second period after ASU sophomore defenseman Alex Temby was sent to the penalty box for interference. The Wildcats responded by getting on the board with a power play goal from forward Jake Campbell off the assists from forwards Alex O'dea and Dylan Carter.
Arizona scored another goal late in the middle period after defenseman Shane Gleason scored off the assists from forwards Brian Hogan and Orion Olsen with 11 seconds left in the period.
The final period was by far the most physical of all three as Arizona tried to keep ASU from scoring and close the gap. Neither team was able to score during the first half of the period. That was until ASU junior forward Coda Engbar scored his first goal of the season off the assists from Rivard and Newmeyer.
Despite strong efforts and multiple scoring opportunities, that was the Sun Devils' last goal of the night because Arizona's defense really picked it up after that timeout in the second period.
ASU defeated Arizona 7-2 making their weekend series 14-2.
The Sun Devils will travel to Colorado next weekend to play No. 21 Colorado State (13-16-1) on Feb. 5 and No. 18 Colorado (10-12-2) on Feb. 6 and 7. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. for all three games.
Three Stars
Third Star: Eric Rivard, ASU (one goal, two assists)
Second Star: Liam Norris, ASU (two assists)
First Star: David Norris, ASU (hat trick, one assist)
Additional Notes
- Liam Norris and Faiz Khan were honored before the game as they played their last home game with ASU.
- Liam Norris is the winningest four-year Sun Devil as of today's date.
- Brett Blomgren was out this weekend dealing with a personal matter and is expected to return next weekend.
Reach the reporter at kewens@asu.edu or follow @katlynewens on Twitter.
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