TEMPE, Ariz. – On Friday night, there were two goals in regulation; Saturday night’s game was similar, with 51 scoreless minutes to start. Through the first two periods, it was apparent that the goalie who blinked first would be on the losing team.
Sophomore forward Noah Powell scored the only goal of the game, giving Arizona State hockey (12-11-1, 5-6-1 NCHC) the lead and the win over Miami (OH) (12-8-2, 3-7-2 NCHC). Freshman goaltender Samuel Urban recorded his first NCAA shootout, stopping 37 shots.
“I try to focus to be loose, don’t really use my brain,” Urban said. “Stop every single shot going step-by-step, nothing crazy.”
Urban’s great game moves his record to an even .500 at 4-4-1. His save percentage moves up to .917, a solid number for the freshman. The Slovakian’s GAA falls to 3.02.
Urban helped lead the penalty kill to a successful game, killing both of the RedHawk power plays. The unit was perfect on the weekend and sits at 83.4%.
“The kill was great,” Arizona State head coach Greg Powers said. “To get us out of that period without getting scored on was huge.”
On the other hand, the power play failed to score on both power plays, with one being on a five-minute major. The unit failed to score a goal on seven chances this weekend.
Powell’s goal was his fourth of the season. Freshman forward Sam Alfano and sophomore forward Logan Morrell had the assists on Powell’s goal.
“Tonight was their best game I thought in a while,” Powers said. “They played with the identity we needed them to play with to be successful.”
Senior forward Bennett Schimek, who came into the weekend second in the NCAA in points, was out with an injury. Schimek, who serves on the power play, was replaced by sophomore defenseman Sam Court, who scored the only Sun Devil goal in Friday night's game.
Schimek’s injury allowed junior forward Tony Achille to make his season debut on the fourth line. In the third period, Powers went to three lines due to numerous injuries.
“When he (Achille) got his time, he was great,” Powers said. “He threw some good checks, and he’s always going to forecheck for you.”
Schimek and senior forward Johnny Waldron could return in two weeks for the Sun Devils next series against North Dakota. Powers thinks that freshman defenseman Lincoln Kuehne will be back for that series.
Sophomore forward Cullen Potter took a huge hit that sidelined him with just under five minutes left in the third period. Potter did not return to the ice in the game and his timetable is unknown. These injuries have come at a time when the Sun Devils had junior center Sean McGurn and junior defenseman Anthony Dowd return to the lineup.
The Sun Devils won 63.3% of faceoffs in the game. All four centers won the majority of their faceoffs.
The Sun Devils' second series against Miami was an ugly four-point weekend. They were outshot by Miami 37 to 26 and still won.
The series was low-scoring, with only two goals for each team on the weekend, with the goaltenders showing out.
“He’s (Miami goaltender Matteo Drobac) great, but at the end of the day, we won,” Urban said. “I’m trying to focus on myself and really care who’s standing up in the opposite net.”