ASU Hockey: Devils tie Bobcats, Louie Rowe wins it in double OT

Louie Rowe’s double overtime goal gives ASU hockey a big confidence booster in 2-2 tie with the Quinnipiac Bobcats Friday night.

Despite the Arizona State Sun Devils and Quinnipiac Bobcats ending in a tie, junior Louie Rowe ripped home the winner in 3-on-3 at Oceanside Ice Arena.

ASU (7-13-5) earned their fifth draw of the year as the team continue its hot stretch during the first month of 2018 with a record of 3-1-1.

Entering the first of the two-game series, the Devils and Bobcats excelled on the penalty kill ranking 12th and 11th in NCAA play. Special teams played a major factor throughout the 60 minutes plus.

Although the first twenty minutes ended scoreless, Quinnipiac (8-12-4) generated great looks on two man-advantages, however the Sun Devils denied both opportunities.

The start of the second frame resulted with a Sun Devil power play, but it would not work in their favor.

A turnover in the defensive zone led to the Bobcats first shorthanded goal of the season as Kevin Duane got his team on the board.

“Careless and not competing when we are on the power play,” explained head coach Greg Powers, “[Quinnipiac] historically has one of the best kills in the country and they showed it tonight.”

The Sun Devils sought redemption and on their next man-advantage, the red-hot Johnny Walker stunned everyone.

With the final seconds of power play expiring, Walker dangled his way through the defense and rifled it past Bobcat freshman Keith Pertruzzelli to knot the game up at one.

After producing his fourth goal in last four games, Walker sits atop the Sun Devils with eight goals and his 12 points are the fourth best on the team.

As the final seconds ticked to end the second period, the Pasichnuk brothers connected as Brinson threw the puck to the goal mouth and Steenn tipped it in through the back door to give the Sun Devils the 2-1 edge.

“I saw [Brinson] coming down the wing and tried to break to the net and get free. It felt good to score again. It’s even more special coming from him,” said Steenn.

While Steenn collected his first goal of the season, Brinson gained his team-leading 17th point and tied Brett Gruber with 11 assists.

The third period brought rising tempers and grittiness as the Bobcats and Devils heavily checked and battled every loose puck around the rink.

Just 12 seconds after Joey Raats took an interference infraction, Quinnipiac quickly put one home as Alex Whelan buried a rebound tying the game up at two.

After 60 minutes, the score stayed the same. A 5-on-5 overtime period did not bring any change either so the game officially ended in a tie.

But it was not over yet.

3-on-3 brought overwhelming excitement to the evening as Louie Rowe wound up and slapped home the game-winner in the top left corner to end the night on a good note.

“We fought to the end and we earned a win in our record books,” replied Rowe, “It’s huge. Going out to Glendale tomorrow, we are going to have a lot of confidence.

Although the final goes down as a tie, the Sun Devils will carry a big boost of momentum and confidence going into the second game.

Next: ASU Hockey: Johnny Walker turning heads in his debut season

The Devils and Bobcats wrap up the series on Saturday at Gila River Arena. Puck drop is scheduled at 7:05 p.m.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.