After going 1-3 on a long east-coast road trip, ASU hockey played at home Friday against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a chance to net its third win of the season.
Although ASU (3-11-0) and RPI (2-12-1) were tied after 40 minutes of back-and-forth hockey, the Sun Devils scored decisive goals in the third period to beat the Engineers 5-3.
“It was a really good win,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “We’re proud of the guys. We felt like we outplayed them for 60 minutes.”
With 13 minutes to go in the game, junior forward Wade Murphy scored the go-ahead goal on the power play, thanks to a centering pass from freshman forward Tyler Busch. Less than three minutes later, Robbie Baillargeon scored after a series of passes from Murphy and sophomore forward Jordan Masters.
The Sun Devils go tic-tac-toe and Robbie Baillargeon buries it.
— Matt J. Layman (@mattjlayman) November 26, 2016
ASU leads 5 to 3 with under 11 minutes remaining.
That made it 5-3, where the score would remain.
“That was the best 60 minute effort we’ve had,” Powers said. “We went up 3-2 there in the second, had a ton of really good chances and didn’t put them away. Then they got a weird bounce there on a 3-on-2 late in the second. The guys didn’t panic.”
Indeed, the Sun Devils stayed calm and killed a penalty to start that third period. Then, Murphy got two big points.
“I think we have a lot of chemistry together,” Murphy said of his linemates. “We’re roommates so I think that adds to the chemistry a little bit. But they’re both great players and we each add a different element to the table.”
The game saw a rare start for ASU sophomore goaltender Ryland Pashovitz – just his second nod of the season – who stopped 23 of 26 shots. For the Engineers, sophomore Chase Perry – a Detroit Red Wings prospect – was in the blue paint. He made 30 saves.
ASU started the game with two chances right away on the power play in short succession, but they failed to convert on either one. Thereafter, a penalty of their own cost them the game’s first goal.
That first goal of the game was an odd one; the Engineers took a 1-0 lead after junior defenseman Jared Wilson’s shot from the point deflected off a body and floated into the net over Pashovitz. RPI’s Patrick Polino was credited with the goal.
The Sun Devils tied it up during 4-on-4 play. Sun Devil junior forward David Norris dished a centering feed on the odd-man rush to freshman defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk, who buried it in the upper-right corner of the net to make it a 1-1 game.
First-period scoring concluded with RPI sophomore forward Brady Wiffen’s even-strength goal with just over five minutes to play.
Through a period, RPI led 2-1.
In the second, ASU took its first lead of the night with two straight goals, the first from sophomore defenseman Nicholas Gushue and the second from sophomore forward Dylan Hollman. But the Engineers made it a 3-3 game with a late goal from freshman forward Jacob Hayhurst.
The game was tied after 40 minutes. ASU led in shots on goal, 24-15.
In the third period, freshman forward Brett Gruber took a puck off of his leg and needed help off the ice.
Brett Gruber appears to be hurt after taking a puck off of his leg. The trainer is out to see him; he's being helped off the ice.
— Matt J. Layman (@mattjlayman) November 26, 2016
“He’s fine,” Powers said. “I think he just got like a Charlie horse. It’s one of those things. We’ll see tomorrow how he wakes up. He’s going to have to ice it and rest it.”
ASU will face RPI again at Oceanside Ice Arena on Saturday in Tempe. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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