On a night in which five seniors were honored and senior defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk netted a hat trick, ASU hockey defeated Alaska Anchorage 5-2 in its final home game of the 2019-2020 season.
Sophomore goaltender Evan DeBrouwer saved 32 shots in the match. ASU's defense was stout, as the Sun Devils killed all six penalties, and cashed in on two of three power play attempts.
"Special teams wins games down the stretch," said coach Greg Powers. "Our special teams was tremendous, our (penalty) kill's been great. (DeBrouwer's) been really good, he's sharp...and we're using the kill. We're using the kill really well to give our bench energy. Our guys are eating pucks and they're playing selfless hockey. It's great to see."
Brinson Pasichnuk opened up scoring for ASU (22-9-3) by sending a slapshot past the Seawolves' goalie just over six minutes into the first period to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead.
The goal came right after the Sun Devils killed off two early penalties, shifting the momentum in their favor for the rest of the first period.
With under five minutes left in the opening frame, junior forward James Sanchez tapped in a pass from junior forward Johnny Walker to make it a 2-0 game.
After Alaska Anchorage (4-21-5, 4-16-4 WCHA) scored just before the first period ended, Brinson Pasichnuk assisted on a give-and-go that led to a goal from sophomore forward PJ Marrocco halfway through the second period to give ASU a 3-1 lead.
With under four minutes to go in the second period, the Seawolves struck again to cut the Sun Devil lead to 3-2.
Brinson Pasichnuk responded once again, scoring a 4-on-3 goal that put ASU up 4-2 with just five seconds remaining in the second period.
Over six minutes into the third period, Pasichnuk scored again on a power play for his third goal to secure the hat trick and put the Sun Devils up 5-2.
It was Pasichnuk's night, as the senior was all over the ice in his last home game.
"Like I always say, it's glory to God," Pasichnuk said. "It was such a cool night. I never in a million years would have expected to go out with something like that. It was just incredible ... another incredible team win."
While it was an emotional night for the seniors, the team's work is far from over.
"Our season's not over. We've still got a lot to accomplish," senior forward Steenn Pasichnuk said. "It's obviously emotional, playing your last home game in Oceanside Ice Arena, but we've still got a lot of hockey left. So, I think most of us are gonna try to save those emotions until we win the Frozen Four."
ASU's final series of the regular season takes them on the road to play Wisconsin starting Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at cvanligt@asu.edu and follow @Connor_VL on Twitter.
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