ASU hockey defeated Notre Dame and Alaska Fairbanks to take home the annual Ice Breaker Tournament trophy.
The Sun Devils rebounded after two losses to No. 4 Penn State, winning Friday 5-3 over Notre Dame and Saturday 5-2 over Alaska Fairbanks.
Friday began with fireworks, as Alaska Fairbanks faced No. 8 Quinnipiac. Michael Citara and Alexander Malinowski would find the back of the net for the Nanooks, stunning Quinnipiac 2-1.
Later that evening, ASU would pack out Mullett Arena once again as the Sun Devils looked for their first win of the season against Notre Dame.
Freshman goaltender Samuel Urban made his debut between the sticks for ASU, racking up 36 saves and allowing two goals against the Fighting Irish. Urban said he battled through cramps to end the second and into the third period, before senior goaltender Connor Hasley stepped in to secure the win.
"It was like my full body was shaking," Urban said. "I was trying to battle it and get through it, but there was no chance."
Junior forward Kyle Smolen opened up the scoring for ASU with a power play goal following a five-minute major penalty from Notre Dame's William Belle. ASU built on its lead, with sophomore forward Noah Powell and freshman forward Carmelo Crandell increasing the lead to three.
Notre Dame would find two goals in the second period before freshman forward Ben Kevan scored two of his own to bring ASU's lead back to three and ice the game.
Saturday brought a new challenge, as the Sun Devils faced off against Alaska Fairbanks, fresh off a top 10 upset. Head coach Greg Powers knew this wouldn't be an easy game.
"They're probably going into tomorrow, without a doubt, expecting to beat us now," Powers said following the win over Notre Dame.
The Nanooks put the pressure on early, creating chances and holding level until a 15th-minute tripping penalty on Alaska Fairbanks' Haden Kruse led to a power play goal from sophomore forward Logan Morrell. This trend continued as both teams scored power-play goals in the second period. ASU's Smolen doubled the lead in the 8th minute before the Nanooks' Chase Dafoe put them back within one in the 15th.
The third period brought domination from Cruz Lucius. The senior forward would take advantage of a highly penalized Alaska Fairbanks team with a trio of power-play goals for his first collegiate hat-trick.
"It happened really fast," Lucius said. "The way my line was playing, that was coming for us."
Lucius' takeover proved to be the difference maker, as a late effort from the Nanooks fell short.
With ASU taking home the trophy, Powers is excited to see where this team can go.
"You hope that winning breeds winning," Powers said. "They get a taste of winning a trophy, a young team, this early in the season."
ASU will continue its season on Oct. 17 and 18 at Augustana before starting conference play against Miami (OH). The next home series for the Sun Devils takes place Nov. 7 and 8 versus Colorado College.
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at aldeutsc@asu.edu and follow @AlanDeutschend3 on X.
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Alan Deutschendorf is a sports editor in his third semester with State Press. He was previously a sports reporter, covering volleyball, softball and a variety of other sports. Alan also works as an Event Assistant in the Edson Events office and is the Social Media Manager for Sun Devils Roundnet.
