Sun Devils fall short in Game 2 at Miami

After a gritty win on Friday night, Arizona State looked to complete the series sweep and extend the in-conference losing streak for the Miami (OH) RedHawks, who had not won a conference game since January of 2024.

In a near carbon copy from last night, Miami opened the scoring just over 2:00 in on a goal by Max Helgeson, his 5th of the season, assisted by Ethan Hay and Michael Quinn. Cruz Lucius answered back at the 10:50 mark to tie the game with his 6th goal of the season, assisted by Johnny Waldron and Sean McGurn.

The Sun Devils had an opportunity to take control before the end of the period after Ilia Morozov was assessed a 5 minute major and game disqualification for boarding less than a minute later, but failed to generate any momentum throughout the power play.

The penalty boxes were crowded as Ty Nash and Ethan Hay were each assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at the end of the first period, with Nash joining Waldron who was serving a carryover penalty for goaltender interference. Both teams battled it out with neither yielding until Ben Kevan scored his third goal of the season on the power play at 9:19 on assists from Waldron and Kyle Smolen to put the Devils on top midway through the second.

The high-scoring RedHawks offense would not be held down on back-to-back nights, as they exploded for three goals in the span of 4:23 to jump ahead 4-2. Max Helgeson got his second of the game from David Deputy and Kocha Delic to tie it at the 11:25 mark, followed by Ethan Hay and Ryan Smith scoring 50 seconds apart to break the game open.

From that point on, Miami played an effective game of keep away, controlling the play and never letting the Sun Devils create any offensive chances. An empty net goal from Ryan Smith put the game fully out of reach with 1:12 remaining in regulation, securing the 5-2 win for the RedHawks.

Ethan Hay's game-winner in the second period marked the 4th shorthanded goal that the Sun Devils have allowed this season, eclipsing the 3 SHG the Devils allowed all last season. This underscores the inefficiency of the power play unit, despite converting 3 of 13 opportunities on the weekend. That plus a highly unbalanced shot spread (13 SOG in the first period, 11 SOG for the rest of the game) kept Arizona State from building and keeping any momentum.

The Sun Devils will return home after this weekend's road split to host Colorado College on November 7-8.