In a tough OT loss to Denver, Arizona State hockey's resiliency legitimizes lofty goals
In the Arizona State hockey facility, one slogan that can be found in all capital letters is “Be The Tradition.”
The Sun Devils are still building that tradition in their 10th year. But on Friday night, they hosted the definition of a traditional program in Denver, the defending champions who have the most titles of any in the NCAA, and came away confident of a postseason run.
Though they lost 5-4 to the Pioneers in overtime, the Sun Devils, as first-year National Collegiate Hockey Conference members, continue to establish a standard they believe puts them at the top echelon of college hockey.
In the first of two weekend games with Denver, Arizona State trailed for more than 25 minutes in regulation, but it was still able to earn a point in a scrappy but well-executed game.
“I love our resiliency, going down 3-1 to those guys and fighting back,” Sun Devils coach Greg Powers said. “Obviously, a big goal to force overtime, it says a lot about our guys.”
Arizona State players knew Denver would have some extra motivation going into the game after defeating the Pioneers twice in November, snapping a 21-game win streak that had begun the previous March. And for the majority of Friday night’s game, the Pioneers were the better team. They led with a minute remaining, shortly after Sun Devils goaltender Luke Pavicich was pulled.
But, as they did from a 3-1 deficit in the second period, the Sun Devils fought back. Bennett Schimek buried the game-tying goal off a sharp pass from Artem Shlaine with 48.1 seconds remaining. Mullett Arena went into a frenzy as the game was tied at 4.
Shlaine exited last Saturday’s game against Miami (Ohio) on a stretcher in the first period. Friday night, he was back in the middle of the action.
“We’ve been preaching, being relentless, don’t give up,” said forward Lucius Cruz, who scored the game’s first goal. “It’s trusting yourself and the guys around (you) that you’re not even close to out of it, no matter what. That’s it, you can’t give up.”
The game epitomized Arizona State’s season. The Sun Devils started slowly, winning only one of their first six games in regulation, and were 4-7-1 going into the November Denver series. Since then, the Sun Devils have responded with a 12-3-0 record and are currently in second place in the conference with 35 points, two points behind first-place Western Michigan. Denver is nine points behind ASU in fourth place.
The ability to bounce back makes ASU players say they are hopeful the team can go on a deep playoff run.
“I think this is our strongest roster for sure that I’ve played on,” forward Ty Jackson said earlier in the week. “I think we have a lot of skill and we're older, and those two things are really important when you get into the playoffs. We just have so much depth. So, I think we have no real weaknesses anywhere.”
The Sun Devils can take positives from Friday’s matchup. They held Denver — the No. 1 power play team in the nation — to no goals on three attempts. Pavicich made big saves when needed against a top-scoring offense. Upperclassmen Jackson, Schimek and assistant captain Lukas Sillinger pulled them back when the game looked tilted in the Pioneers’ favor.
“They’re doing a great job, a lot of respect again for them and their staff,” Denver coach David Carle said. “Great building. Nice place to come to obviously for families, fans and alumni … They’re a quality hockey team and I think they make our league better.”
That idea of fight and resiliency is what the Sun Devils say they embody.
“I’m really proud of our guys for fighting back,” Powers said. “It would have been really easy to throw in the towel against a team that good. But we didn’t do it, and I’m excited to see what we respond with (Saturday).”
Jake Mozarsky is a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism