Arizona State drops weekend opener to Minnesota-Duluth

There was plenty of pomp and circumstance as the game started on Friday night with Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin being recognized for coaching his 1,000th career game, all with the Bulldogs since being named head coach for the 2000-01 season.

After the video montage, there was still an important conference game to be played, and the first period played out like a calculated chess match. The Bulldogs had the slight edge offensively, but goaltender Connor Hasley stood tall, stopping all 8 shots he faced in the period. The Bulldogs defense came as advertised, limiting the Sun Devils to only 5 shots on net, but one found the back of the net on a 2-on-1 rush, Ty Nash getting the goal off a pass from Sean McGurn in the closing minutes of the opening frame. Noah Powell would be credited with the secondary assist on the goal.

That goal gave the Sun Devils their first lead at the first intermission since November 22nd at home against Denver, and looked to be the start of the first complete game of the season, something that head coach Greg Powers has been very vocal about in media availability all season long.

With a top line like the Bulldogs have, it’s difficult to keep them quiet for an entire game. After Cullen Potter went to the box for slashing at the 6:15 mark of the 2nd, Max Plante struck for the potent power play to tie the game up at the 7:37 mark. Kyle Gaffney added what proved to be the game-winning goal with just under 5 minutes to play before intermission, his first goal as a Bulldogs since transferring in from Alaska-Fairbanks this offseason.

Chasing a goal at the start of the 3rd, the Sun Devils had their scoring opportunities but failed to get high-percentage chances on goaltender Adam Gajan. Of the 15 shot attempts for Arizona State over the final 20 minutes, only 5 shots made it on target, 2 of them coming on a 5 minute major power play after an Adam Kleber hit on Kyle Smolen.

A lengthy official review confirmed the major penalty on Kleber for interference, but the concern now rests with the health of the Sun Devils’ co-captain, who is currently being evaluated at a local hospital but his status unknown at the time of this writing. With the holiday break coming after Saturday’s game, it is most likely that he will remain in concussion protocol out of an abundance of caution.

Connor Hasley once again made a couple of Grade A saves on breakaway chances by Max Plante to keep Arizona State down only one, but with the net empty as the power play expired, Daniel Shlaine (younger brother of former Sun Devil Artem) put the final tally on the board with a 200 foot shot to secure the 3-1 victory.

The Sun Devils hung tough with the Bulldogs for the majority of the game, but failed to generate any momentum after jumping out to the first period lead. Minnesota-Duluth outshot the Devils by a 39-17 margin, marking the second time this season that Arizona State has been held under 20 shots in a game. More impressively, the Bulldogs generated 63 shot attempts to 37 for the Sun Devils, keeping the pressure on Hasley alll game long while playing the shutdown defense that has propelled them towards the top of the NCHC standings. Minnesota-Duluth stays at No. 4 in the NPI rankings, while Arizona State slips a spot to No. 39.

Around the NCHC

Speaking of the rest of the NCHC, three other league games were in action, with Western Michigan being the lone team off this weekend. Colorado College and Miami played to a 4-4 tie, with the. RedHawks gaining the extra point in the standings with a 1-0 shootout win. Denver took care of business against St. Cloud State with a 5-1 win, and North Dakota defended home ice against Omaha in a 4-1 win. Arizona State held their ground in 5th place with 10 points, while Minnesota-Duluth leaps the idle Broncos into 3rd place with 21 points. Miami narrows the gap between 5th and 9th place to just three points, sitting at 7 points after their shootout win.

Up Next

The Sun Devils and Bulldogs will be back in action tomorrow night, puck drop at 4pm Arizona time on NCHC.tv (subscription required).