(St. Cloud, MN) Oh, sweep victory! The No. 13 Arizona State hockey team (13-8-1, 8-4-0 NCHC) completed its second consecutive road sweep as it defeated No. 15 St. Cloud State (11-11-0, 4-8-0 NCHC), 5-3, on Saturday night at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
The sweep gave ASU all six conference points that were up for grabs this weekend. The Sun Devils continue their sole possession of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with 25 points through 12 conference games. ASU is one point ahead of Western Michigan and two points ahead of Omaha.
After a 1-1 tie game through two periods, ASU exploded offensively during a five-minute power play that saw three different skaters score to take a 4-1 lead. SCSU attempted a comeback with two goals of its own late in the third period before a huge effort by goaltender Gibson Homer and an empty net goal secured the 5-3 win for ASU.
Ryan Kirwan was credited with the game-winning goal, his third of the weekend to finish with four points and a combined plus/minus of +4. His 14 goals on the year leads the NCHC and is tied for 10th in the nation.
Gibson Homer made his 10th start and backstopped the Sun Devils to its second-straight road sweep of an NCHC opponent. Homer improved to 6-3-1 with a 31-save performance over the Huskies. Homer is now on a four-game winning streak dating back to his shutout victory over Cornell in the Desert Hockey Classic.
Noah Beck had a two point night with one power play goal and an assist. He captured the outright team lead for points this season from four goals and 18 assists. Beck leads the team in power play goals with four.
Artem Shlaine set a career single game high with four points against the Huskies on Saturday night from one goal and three assists. Shlaine was key at the faceoff dot with a 68.4 percent success rate over his Husky opponents. His 57 percent success rate this season continues to lead the ASU team and is ranked ninth in the NCHC. He finished the weekend in St. Cloud with five points (1G, 4A). He also extended his point scoring streak to four-straight. He boasts 17 points in his last 11 games.
Lukas Sillinger enjoyed his fifth consecutive two-point night on Saturday versus the Huskies. He has tallied two points in each appearance dating back to Jan. 4, 2025 against Cornell. The streak includes three goals and seven assists for a 2025 that includes 10 points in the last five games. The mark makes him a point per game player with 20 games played this season (20 PTS).
GAME NOTABLES
Sillinger is eight points away from reaching 150 career points. He tallied 53 in his first two seasons of collegiate hockey at Bemidji State and 89 total points in his three-year career at Arizona State.
With one goal and three assists, Artem Shlaine is only one point away from reaching 100 career points in an NCAA career split between UConn, Northern Michigan and Arizona State.
Kyle Smolen tacked on two apples on Saturday night to complete a four point weekend in Minnesota. He now has six points in the last four games.
With three power play goals, ASU’s unit moved to ninth best in the country with a 26.8 percent success rate
The Sun Devils tallied 11 goals at St. Cloud State to jump to No. 4 in the country for goals per game with an average of 3.5
The last time the Sun Devils took to the road, they swept then-No. 1 Denver at Magness Arena on Nov. 22-23, 2024.
PERIOD BREAKDOWN
First Period
The ASU penalty kill unit got its first look of the night early just 90 seconds into the frame after a hooking call on Joel Kjellberg. Gibson Homer made three saves to keep the game scoreless. At the seven-minute mark, the Huskies went to the penalty box for roughing for the first time. Thirty seconds into the man-advantage, Lukas Sillinger nailed a one-timer from the circle with an assist from Kyle Smolen and Artem Shlaine. The goal – his 141st collegiate point – brought Sillinger within reaching distance of the monumental mark of 150 career points. Despite being outshot 12-4 through the first 20 minutes, ASU went to intermission with the 1-0 lead.
Second Period
The Huskies continued to outshoot the Sun Devils during the first half of the period and finally converted on their offensive efforts at 8:15 to tie the game 1-1. Five minutes later, it appeared that Bennett Schimekscored but the goal was reviewed and ruled a “no-goal” for offside. The game score remained tied 1-1. A scuffle after the whistle at 13:28 into the period put Benji Eckerle and two Huskies into the penalty box, handing ASU its third power play opportunity of the game. ASU came up empty and transitioned to the kill after a slashing call on Ty Murchison at the 17-minute mark. The Sun Devils killed 90 seconds of the kill before the Huskies committed another penalty that called for four-on-four hockey for 30 seconds. ASU would start the third period with 50 seconds remaining on the power play. ASU was outshot 13-9 in the middle frame.
Third Period
The game’s momentum switched entirely just two minutes into the final frame of regulation when a Huskies skater was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for hitting from behind. ASU showed its offensive prowess with three goals during the five minute power play to take a 4-1 lead.
With eight minutes remaining in regulation, the Huskies tallied their second goal to push the score to 4-2. After pulling their goaltender, the Huskies brought the game within one with three minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Artem Shlaine tacked on the insurance goal with an empty net to complete a four-point night for the graduate center.
UP NEXT
ASU returns to warmer temperatures for a two-game series at Mullett Arena vs. Colorado College on Jan. 24-25.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Paige Shacklett
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