The National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff was back in St. Paul, Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, Mar. 21. This was the final time the tournament was going to be hosted at a neutral site with it switching back to college campuses starting next season. The first of two games on Friday was between the second seed, Arizona State University Sun Devils, and the number three seed, the Denver Pioneers.
The game started out in the Pioneers control and although the Sun Devils climbed back into the game, the Pioneers got the final goals and took the win 4-2 to move on to the Championship Game. In this article we’ll look at how the Pioneers kept things going to get the win and move on, starting with who stepped up.
Pioneers Get Goals From Throughout Line-Up
From the start, it looked like it was going to be a pretty even game, but the Pioneers had the slight edge in nearly everything, from speed to goals. Just under a minute and a half into the first period, the Pioneers’ defense got in on the action, as Boston Buckberger scored to give his team the early lead and jump.
They built off that momentum the rest of the period until they capitalized on a power play chance. Aidan Thompson took the shot, and Sam Harris knocked on the rebound to take a two-goal lead in a tightly fought game. The Sun Devils pushed back in the second to tie the game, but Thompson came up big on the scoresheet once again, this time with a goal that would end up being the game-winner. They also got an empty net goal from Connor Caponi to seal the win fully. Although he didn’t get any points, Zeev Buium was also noticeable as he had some nice plays that weren’t able to make it all the way, and he played strong defense.
“I think that we wanted to get off on a hot start knowing how run and gun they are and their ability to produce offense and get goals. I think that it was important for us to jump in front and get the first one and then not looking back and just staying consistent with our game there,” said Buckberger about scoring early.
Pioneers’ Davis Stands Tall in Net
While the Pioneers got out to an early lead, they leaned on Matt Davis’s goaltending a lot throughout the game. The Sun Devils had a lot of strong chances, but he held strong despite the two goals that did make it past him. He made a total of 27 saves and was one of the biggest difference-makers in the game for the Pioneers, as they made a number of mistakes that could’ve cost them the game.
“I mean it’s one game at a time, I think the group is hungry, I think they’re committed to playing the right way but again these tournaments are so damn hard. A lot of one goal games it could go either way it’s trying to stop one more player, make one more play so I think we obviously have as good a chance as anybody to do what we want to do but we’ll focus on it one game at a time. Get rest here for our guys, and we’ll take in the North Dakota/Western game and prepare for whoever we get tomorrow,” said head coach David Carle about how they’re playing.
Sun Devils Need to be Proud
Despite the loss and the pain that comes with it, the Sun Devils have no reason to hang their heads. They fought a hard battle, and instead of backing down when they got behind early, they fought their way back into the game and nearly stole the lead from the defending champions. They matched speed and puck-moving abilities but unfortunately couldn’t get the goals that the Pioneers did, but it wasn’t for lack of effort.
Related: Arizona State Sweeps Minnesota Duluth; Advances to NCHC Semifinals
“Just treat this place with the love and respect it deserves, Coach Powers has always preached that you gotta leave this place better than you found it. I believe we did that, it’s just hopefully those guys can carry the torch and get it done next year,” said Ty Murchison about how he felt playing at ASU.
Pioneers Move On
With this win, the Pioneers will move on to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship to defend their title. They’ll take on the Western Michigan University Broncos who defeated North Dakota in the second semifinal on Friday night. The Broncos will be looking to claim their first NCHC title since joining the conference back in 2011. It’ll be interesting to see who wins the final Frozen Faceoff Championship at the Xcel Energy Center since they’ll be moving away from the neutral site next season.
