Although the team's only played eight overtime periods, ASU has seemingly struggled to find the back of the net when it matters most.
The Sun Devils are 2-4-2 in games going to overtime. Although its overtime record might look bad, ASU has done well when the game goes to a shootout after surviving an extra period.
In the NHL, teams have to play a shortened three-on-three overtime period where the first team to score wins the game. Any win counts for two points, losses for zero and overtime or shootout losses for one.
The game goes to a shootout if either team still hasn't scored after overtime. Both teams send out three players, one at a time, who go one-on-one with the goalie. The team with the most shootout goals wins the game.
The game goes to sudden-death if it is still tied after all six players shoot. If one team scores on their shootout attempt and the other does not, the scoring team wins the game.
College rules are just a little bit different. The NCAA does use the same shootout and overtime format as the NHL, but the leagues differ in their point systems.
If the game doesn't impact conference standings, shootouts are ruled as ties regardless of the outcome. If it is a conference game, the winner of the shootout will break the tie and win the game.
The NHL's point system is adopted in the NCHC, meaning the team's win over Minnesota-Duluth in the shootout counts as two points for ASU and one for the Bulldogs.
However, earlier in the season when freshman forward Cullen Potter scored a game-winning shootout goal against Michigan, both the Sun Devils and the Wolverines were awarded a tie. Although the team didn't get a statistical win, graduate defenseman Noah Beck mentioned the shootout win was for the fans.
"It was amazing," Beck said in an interview with Sun Devil Source. "It's just nice to come out with that tie there and get the shootout win for the fans."
READ MORE: 17-year-old Cullen Potter makes his name with ASU hockey
Although the Sun Devils have succeeded in the shootouts, the team is struggling to finish the game during overtime. The team's last four games have all gone to overtime.
In two-game bouts against Denver and Minnesota-Duluth, the Sun Devils split both weekend series. The team's second game against the Bulldogs ended in a shootout victory.
Head coach Greg Powers suggested the Denver loss wasn't due to any outside pressures.
"We didn't manage pucks well enough to get the win," Powers said in an interview with Sun Devil Source. "I love our resiliency to go down 3-to-1 to those guys and fight back and then obviously get a big goal to force overtime, (it) says a lot about our guys."
Even after playing eight overtimes, the Sun Devils have only secured two true overtime wins as far as the NCAA is concerned. Both of those wins came at home.
It appears ASU can score game-tying goals but not game-winning goals. ASU has time and again shown fans that it can put the puck in the net to stay alive – yet the team is left looking for answers to their overtime struggles.
Senior defenseman Ty Murchison said overtime losses often come from a lack of motivation to win after a physical 60-minute game.
"The calls weren't the way we wanted it to go," Murchison said in an interview with Sun Devil Source after an overtime loss to North Dakota on Jan. 11. "At the end of the day, I don't think we were as hungry as we were on Friday night."
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at Gbarberi@asu.edu and follow @Giobarberio1 on X.
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Giovanni is a sophomore studying history. This is his third semester with The State Press.
