(Tempe, AZ) The No. 16 Arizona State ice hockey team (11-8-1, 6-4-3 NCHC) fell just short to No. 14 North Dakota (12-8-1, 7-3-0 NCHC) in a 4-3 overtime loss at Mullett Arena. Despite the loss, the Sun Devils collected four out of six possible points in the weekend series and remain atop the NCHC as they share a three-way tie with Western Michigan and North Dakota.
The Sun Devils welcomed home all-time leading scorer and founding father Johnny Walker back to Tempe with a pregame acknowledgement and ceremonial puck drop before the contest started.
Special teams was the key factor in this one as the Sun Devils and Fighting Hawks combined for 39:00 of penalties. ASU went 2-5 on the man-advantage whereas UND went 1-6. The Sun Devils were able to net two goals on their five-minute advantage due to a Fighting Hawks major penalty, rallying them from a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 lead.
The two sides went punch-for-punch all night long but UND landed the final blows with a goal at 19:32 in the third period and the eventual game winner in overtime.
Cruz Lucius made his debut in the maroon and gold over the weekend against the Fighting Hawks. A point per game player for the past two seasons at Wisconsin, Lucius is off to a hot start for ASU, recording points in each of the games at Mullett Arena.
Artem Shlaine tallied his second and third goals of the weekend and both of his lamplighters on Saturday were scored on special teams. There are only four skaters in ASU history who have tallied a shorthanded goal and a power play goal in the same game (two occurred in 2024-25):
Artem Shlaine, vs. No. 14 North Dakota on Jan. 11, 2025 (L, 4-3 OT)
Bennett Schimek, vs. Air Force on Oct. 4, 2024 (W, 8-3)
Robert Mastrosimone, vs. Michigan Tech on Jan. 6, 2023 (L, 4-2)
Josh Maniscalso, vs. Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 9, 2019 (W, 4-0)
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
After a back and forth affair at the start of the contest, the Sun Devil penalty kill was put to the test at the 6:16 mark after a hooking penalty on Sam Court. ASU was then called for too many men on the ice leading to a brief 5-on-3 for the Fighting Hawks and an additional two minutes of penalty kill. The Sun Devils PK unit answered the bell and killed off back-to-back minor penalties to keep things knotted at 0-0 at the halfway point of the first period. The two sides continued to battle until a UND penalty at 13:48 granted ASU their first opportunity on the power play. The power play was short lived as both the Sun Devils and Fighting Hawks picked up multiple minor penalties, sending the game to 4-on-4 hockey. The Sun Devils found the back of the net as the period was winding down, but after further review, the goal was negated for an offsides call, keeping the score at 0-0. The referee’s whistles were active throughout the period as the teams combined for 12 minutes of penalties in the first frame. However, neither team was able to capitalize as the score remained 0-0 after the opening 20 minutes.
Second Period
ASU opened up the second period with a flurry of shots and chances, but UND held the line as the action continued at 0-0. A post-whistle scrum resulted in roughing, which brought the game back to 4-on-4 hockey at 3:17 into the second. Shortly after the 4-on-4 had concluded and shortly after the Fighting Hawks scored the opening goal of the game at 6:14 as Jake Schmaltz gave UND the 1-0 advantage. The penalties kept on coming as Sam Court was called for a slash at 11:09 to hand UND its fourth power play opportunity. A costly error by the Fighting Hawks netminder led to a wide open cage for Artem Shlaine to tuck home a short-handed goal and knot things up, 1-1. Another whistle resulted in a Brasen Boser holding call at 13:40 to put UND right back on the power play. The Fighting Hawks cashed in on the man-advantage on a wrister from Jayden Perron to push them ahead, 2-1. Goaltender Luke Pavicich was able to weather the storm and keep things at 2-1. Shortly after the penalty kill, ASU had a power play opportunity of their own to close out the second period. The Sun Devils couldn’t cash in, but carried over 1:15 of power play time to open the third period.
Third Period
Beginning the period on the power play, ASU could not capitalize and the score remained 2-1. Special teams remained the key factor in the contest as UND committed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct by UND captain Louis Jamernik at the 3:46 mark giving ASU a huge opportunity to even things up with a five-minute power play. The Sun Devils got the shot they were looking for as Bennett Schimekroofed a wrist shot bar-down to bring things back to 2-2 at 6:45. With the major penalty, the Sun Devils continued in power play action and the units took full advantage as Artem Shlaine netted his second goal of the game and eighth of the season, pushing ASU ahead 3-2 at 7:59. The two sides continued to trade blows in a very physical effort down the stretch. The Fighting Hawks pulled their netminder in the final stretch as they made their last push to tie things up. The last ditch effort resulted in a goal from Cameron Berg to knot things up at 3-3 with just 28 seconds to play. The Sun Devils and Fighting Hawks ended the 60 minute regulation all tied up at 3-3 heading to overtime.
Overtime
The Sun Devils rolled out Artem Shlaine, Ryan Kirwan and Noah Beck to kick things off in extra time. The nonstop action went back and forth as each team traded chances at will. The electrifying 3-on-3 ended with the Fighting Hawks finding the game winner and securing a 4-3 overtime win.
QUOTES
Head coach Greg Powers
On Johnny Walker and his contribution to Sun Devil Hockey:
“Huge. Johnny’s a legend. He’s our all-time scorer. I’m glad he got recognized by our fans. He was never able to play here, but he helped us build this. This is all his and the guys he played with. It was a good moment for him and for our program.”
On the talent and resilience of the team:
“I don’t think we can play anything more sloppy or bring the box and just lack execution. We just didn’t play well, but despite all that, we found a way to be resilient enough to be 30 seconds away from a home sweep in regulation against that team, who’s a hell of a team. It speaks to how good our team is. We got a hell of a team and this certainly won’t define us. It won’t break us. It just stinks right now.”
On Pavicich’s performance:
“He was great. Pavicich was awesome. He was on point. I think he deserved to win the game and he held us in it, obviously. A lot of power plays and he only gave up one and he never saw it. He was awesome. I have no regrets whatsoever in starting and he was tremendous.”
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Paige Shacklett
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