There were a lot of headlines this weekend as the number-16-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils hosted the number-14 ranked North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Cruz Lucius, a fourth-round pick in 2022, made his season debut, former Sun Devil T.J. Semptimphelter returned to the desert, and ASU legend Johnny Walker dropped the ceremonial puck before Saturday’s game. Walker played with ASU from 2017-2022 and was a big part of their success at Oceanside Arena before the team moved to Mullett Arena.
“Huge, Johnny’s [Walker] a legend. He’s our all-time leading scorer, glad he got recognized by our fans,” head coach Greg Powers said. “He was never able to play here; he helped us build this. This is all his, so it was a good moment for him.”
Related: Sparky’s Notebook: Cruz Lucius’ Return, PairWise Update, North Dakota & More
At the end of it all, though, the Maroon & Gold split the series against the Fighting Hawks, and their winning streak ended at eight games, a school record for the most games won consecutively in a single season. It was an incredible stretch of games, including sweeps over Denver University, Minnesota Duluth, and winning the Desert Hockey Classic for the second consecutive season.
Homer Gibson a Brick Wall in Game One
Heading into game one of the highly anticipated series against the Fighting Hawks, Gibson Homer was given the start, which was a surprise to most. Homer hadn’t started a National College Hockey Conference (NCHC) game since Nov. 8 against Colorado College. He had previously started in the championship game against Cornell in the Desert Hockey Classic, but it’s been a while since he last got the starting nod. He showed up against his best friend, Semptimphelter, as ASU cruised to a 4-1 win.
“Gibby [Gibson Homer] was tremendous; he was fantastic,” Powers said. “You could tell he was dialed right away when he plays big, aggressive, and calm; he’s as good as it gets.”
It wasn’t just Powers who complimented the goaltending either; the whole team is taking notice, and it’s hard not to. It almost seems like a coin toss each game; you’ll get a solid goaltender regardless of whether it’s Luke Pavicich or Homer in net.
“They’re making the shooters better; they’re making themselves better,” Artem Shlaine said on the goaltending tandem. “It’s a healthy competition at the end of the day, and making each other better and helping out the team.”
At the other end of the ice, Semptimphelter was also good in his return to the Valley, but it included plenty of boos and name-calling, especially from the student section, who let him hear it all night long. On the other hand, Lucius had an assist in his debut, and his line of Bennett Schimek and Cullen Potter was arguably the best line the entire night, creating chance after chance.
“They’re incredible; those are three elite players that haven’t played very much, obviously,” Powers said. “Cruz [Lucius] just started practicing really a week ago, and it doesn’t take a hockey novice to see how good that kid is; he’s not even close to 100% from his conditioning and all that stuff, but boy, he makes plays, he’s a hell of a player.”
In the end, the Sun Devils won 4-1 and ignited the crowd from the start, which kept the crowd in the game for the entire 60 minutes.
Penalties an Issue in Game Two, Resulting in 3-2 Overtime Loss
It’s safe to say that when both teams have 39 penalty minutes combined, a lot happened. ASU made countless sloppy plays, and it was obvious that the team was tired. Many of them were uncharacteristic penalties, and at times, they didn’t look like the team that had won their previous eight in a row.
“Penalties, obviously,” Powers said on what changed from game one to two. “We didn’t stay out of the box, and our defense, especially in the second period, they stopped moving their feet, and they’re reaching and a lot of stick penalties. At the end of the day, we probably didn’t deserve that one because of how many penalties we took. We found a way to be really resilient there and popped two on a five-minute major.”
At the time, a five-minute major was reviewed and ultimately called on Louis Jamernik V. ASU scored twice on the penalty, the first from Bennett Schimek and the second from Shlaine. Shlaine, a New Jersey Devils prospect, had the three goals this series and has 13 points in 14 games since returning from injury earlier in the season.
“I think, obviously, the calls weren’t the way we wanted to go, and at the end of the day, I don’t think we were as hungry as we were on Friday night,” Ty Murchison said. “So to come away with four out of six points on the weekend in a game that we probably didn’t deserve to win in the first place was pretty good.”
In the end, ASU blew a one-goal lead in the third period, resulting in a 3-2 loss, but are now tied for first in the NCHC standings with Western Michigan and North Dakota.
“This certainly won’t define us, it won’t break us, it’s just things right now, anytime you lose in overtime, it sucks, especially when you have a grade-A, the kid [Hobie Hedquist] made a big save on Potter, and then they go right down and score,” Powers said. “But hats off to North Dakota for them not going away and finding a way to come in here and get two points.”
This isn’t the first time the team has blown a lead in the third period; it’s happened numerous times this season, including against Air Force, Colorado College, and now against North Dakota.
Powers and Company Heads High as Season Marches On
Of course, it would’ve been nice for Powers and Company to come away with the sweep and win their ninth (11th if you count the USNTDP exhibition series) game in a row, but all good things come to an end. ASU took four of six possible points this weekend, and given how talented the North Dakota team is, it wasn’t a bad weekend. The Maroon & Gold will prepare for an away series when they take on St. Cloud State next weekend.
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