Sophomore forward Louie Rowe and freshman defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk provided fireworks for ASU hockey on Friday — namely, critical goals — that helped the Sun Devils best Colgate 5-4.
Rowe netted the first goal of the game — a shorthander on a breakaway — as well as one in the third period that put the Sun Devils up 4-3. Pasichnuk, meanwhile, help set up his teammate for a go-ahead goal in the first period, and Pasichnuk later buried a goal of his own.
“It’s funny, because I told (Rowe) this week, ‘You’re going to get two Friday,'" head coach Greg Powers said. “We put him on the power play just to build his confidence a bit, and he made me look really smart.”
In all, Rowe and Pasichnuk combined for three goals and an assist en route to ASU’s fourth win of the season.
Thanks to Rowe, ASU (4-12-0) opened the scoring in the first period. Two Raiders coughed up the puck in the neutral zone to Rowe, and the sophomore forward rocketed out on a breakaway and scored on a backhanded move to give ASU the 1-0 lead.
“They scrambled around a little bit on their breakout, one thing led to another,” Rowe said. “The guy was struggling with the puck so I jumped on it. I had a little breakaway there and found a way to put in the net.”
The second period saw Colgate (3-9-4) get on the board for the first time, as freshman forward Bobby McMann put a shot on ASU sophomore goalie Ryland Pashovitz. "Pash" stopped the puck initially with a high shoulder, but he and the puck eventually went to the ground and both slid into the net, tying the game at one apiece.
Pashovitz made 30 saves on Friday for the win. Powers said he thought his goaltender played well, and that will get the start on Saturday. It’s the first time this season Pashovitz will start back-to-back games.
A look at the Colgate Raiders (3-8-4) in the pre-game skate. pic.twitter.com/ECo6ygbiCw
— Matt J. Layman (@mattjlayman) December 3, 2016
Less than two minutes after the first Colgate tally, the Sun Devils went on a power play caused by a Raiders roughing call. Just 37 seconds into the 5-on-4, Pasichnuk bounced a shot off the pads of the Colgate senior goaltender Charlie Finn. Graduate forward Robbie Baillargeon was waiting on the other side of the net to put home the juicy rebound.
Baillargeon’s goal, his team-leading eighth of the season, made it 2-1 Sun Devils.
Still in the second period, sophomore defenseman Jakob Stridsberg scored on a slapshot from the point to make it 3-1. Before the second period ended, senior forward Derek Freeman scored for Colgate.
The Sun Devils were leading 3-2 to begin the final 20 minutes, and Colgate tied things up in the first five minutes.
That’s when Rowe showed up again.
Rowe got a feed from sophomore forward Anthony Croston and Baillargeon, helping him tally his second goal of the game. Less than a minute later, Pasichnuk put home a goal, which Colgate disputed.
Pasichnuk’s goal, like Rowe’s, was good, and ASU was up 5-3.
Colgate senior defenseman Jake Kulevich did get the Raiders on the board for a final time to make it 5-4, and that created an empty net chance for the Sun Devils in the final 90 seconds of the game. ASU scrambled, at one point getting the puck to Rowe, who would have had a hat trick with an empty-net goal.
Rowe had to settle for just two goals.
“I went for it,” Rowe said. “(A Colgate player) played goalie, I guess a smart play by him. It is what it is.”
ASU and Colgate will rematch at 7:05 p.m. in Tempe on Saturday, Dec. 3.
Reach the reporter at matthew.layman@asu.edu or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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