Rough third-period play on Friday and an unfortunate blunder on Saturday defined ASU hockey while being swept by St. Cloud State on Feb. 6 and 7.
Going into the series 13-14-1, the Sun Devils had split a series against Colorado College on Jan. 30 and 31 prior to facing the Huskies. Posting a 2-4 conference record in January, ASU looked to change the narrative of its recent results.
After a closely contested first two periods on Friday that saw both teams knotted at 1-1, ASU was found in a situation all too familiar in the third.
Giving up three goals in the final period, two of which came with an empty net, the Sun Devils added to a long list of third-period mishaps in the 2025-26 season.
With ASU's primary struggle being finding the net, ASU head coach Greg Powers highlighted how the Sun Devils looked in the first game against the Huskies.
"We felt five on five after two periods, we could have been up a few," Powers said. "I really liked our second period. (Their goalie) was just really good. We didn't finish."
While sophomore forward Noah Powell scored his fifth goal of the season to level the scoring in the second period, one player who shone on Friday was freshman forward Sam Alfano, who was one of the players credited with the assist on the goal.
The other player credited with the assist, sophomore forward Logan Morrell, commented on Alfano's development in Tempe.
"He's done a really good job," Morrell said. "He plays his role. He's a big body. Can hit guys, make plays in front, score goals."
Morrell was not the only player with praise for the forward. Powers also complimented Alfano, now the fourth-highest scorer on ASU with 16 points from 6 goals and 10 assists.
"He doesn't have to score to be effective, because he's big and he's got a good stick, and he works and he plays 200 feet," Powers said. "Now he's really layered on some confidence to that 'B' game, but he's starting to score."
With Sun Devil fans heading out of Mullett Arena before the final whistle, Saturday served as an opportunity to pull back some momentum for ASU.
While the Sun Devils had a chance to recover in the second game of the series, one mistake in the final minute of the weekend defined ASU.
Saturday saw back-and-forth play, with the teams knotted at 3-3 with under two minutes left in the game.
After a successful third period that saw the Sun Devils outscore the Huskies 2-1 before the final minute, ASU had a power play with under one minute remaining in the game.
Then, out of his crease chasing a puck, freshman goaltender Samuel Urban misplaced a pass and junior forward Tyson Gross capitalized with a game-winning goal for the Huskies, sending Sun Devil fans home unhappy.
The difference in game two seemed intangible. ASU, outshooting its opponent across two games, found the net three times and even improved in the third period.
The Sun Devils still went home unhappy, taking just two points in their last six games. Lost for words after the game, captain and senior forward Bennett Schimek explained what needed to change.
"For the most part, it's just a mindset thing," Schimek said. "Every shift is so important. We've realized that, and that's something that still needs to be an adjustment for us."
Now in eighth place in the conference, ASU has six games left on its schedule. With the series wrapped up and his team now at a new low point in 2025-26, Powers took responsibility for the stretch of results.
"At the end of the day, we have not been able to get it done in close games this year, and that falls squarely on me," Powers said. "I haven't been able to get through to this team and convince them what it takes to win games like tonight and last night and North Dakota. So at the end of the day, we are where we are, and it's completely on me."
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Jack McCarthy and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at aswift10@asu.edu and follow @alexswiftsports on X.
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