The ASU men's hockey team completed its final series of the 2020 calendar year with a 4-4 tie on Thursday and a 3-2 victory on Friday to move to 4-6-2 on the season.
Thursday
ASU came into Columbus, Ohio to match up against the No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes, who were 3-5 heading into the series.
ASU continued their trend of struggling out of the gate, allowing three goals on eight Ohio State shots within the first 8:19 of the game.
Freshman goaltender Cole Brady, who was given the start, was quickly replaced with junior teammate Evan DeBrouwer in goal.
"I thought both teams came out flat," head coach Greg Powers said of the opening 10 minutes of the game. "(Ohio State) put some pucks on net and they went in."
The Sun Devils would regain their balance with DeBrouwer in net, scoring four unanswered goals throughout the rest of the game.
The first two came courtesy of freshman forward Michael Mancinelli, who scored at the beginning and near the end of the second period; the goals helped send ASU into the final period of the game down by one.
"Honestly just stick to how we play and how we know we can play," Mancinelli said of the team's message after being down 3-0 early. "It was a tough first ten minutes but after that, we kind of regrouped and got to work."
The goals were Mancinelli's first and second of his NCAA career.
"I think what I liked about him and his line was they struggled in the first period," Powers said. "They had no juice, so I sat them the last six or seven minutes...he came out (in the second) and got us back the game."
Forward Chris Grando caught Ohio State goaltender Tommy Nappier napping 50 seconds into the third period, and was able to put the puck past the unsuspecting goaltender in front of the net to tie the game.
"We knew we could (rally)," Mancinelli said. "We pulled together and chipped away (at Ohio State) slowly."
Junior forward Jordan Sandhu scored just over five minutes after Grando to push ASU into the lead, but the lead was not kept for long. Ohio State's Tate Singleton scored with 8:46 left in regulation to re-tie the game.
"(We had) a no-quit mindset," Sandhu said. "We believe in the group we have, and it was a tough start but there were still 50 minutes to go and it showed how much character we have in the room."
The rest of the third saw no scores, resulting in ASU's fourth overtime game of the season.
Despite significant pressure in ASU's defensive zone in overtime, Ohio State was unable to score in the extra period, and neither was ASU, ending in the Sun Devils' second tie of the year.
"I am so proud of our guys," Powers said. "It was like a morgue in the (locker) room because the guys wanted to win and when you claw back down three after what we've gone through for 35 days ... with the character of this team to do that, it was so impressive."
Friday
Ohio State picked up where it left off from Thursday's first period, scoring on the power play from Layton Ahac 3:43 into the game.
Matthew Kopperud was able to get ASU on the scoreboard 11:33 into the second period on the power-play; the score was his seventh goal of the season.
However, the tie did not last, and less than a minute later, Ohio State was able to put the puck past DeBrouwer following a face-off in ASU's defensive zone to retake their one-goal lead.
ASU struck again with 4:14 left in the second on a goal from Jacob Wilson, just the second goal to come from a defenseman for ASU this season.
"Everyone is bought in," Wilson said of the team. "Everybody is contributing every night and there is no let up in our game. It's awesome to be a part of it."
Ohio State's Gustaf Westlund was given a game misconduct for an illegal hit to the head of Sean Dhooghe late in the second period, and ASU defenseman Jack Judson made the Buckeyes pay with a power-play goal to push ASU into the lead with 12 seconds left to go in the frame.
ASU prevented any further scoring from Ohio State to pick up a 3-2 win, its fourth victory of the season.
"It was definitely awesome," Kopperud said of the win. "Going home with a win is something we can carry with us (into the series) against Minnesota in the new year."
After staying on the road for 12 games, six different schools, and traveling to five different states, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe for a much-needed break before the season continues in 2021.
"I told the guys in the room after the game that we had some really big moments as we built this thing, but that win was the most gratifying since we've been Division I," Powers said. "They never stopped working hard and today they got rewarded.
The Sun Devils will open 2021 on the road once again, this time at Minnesota on January 3 and 4.
"What's amazing is that we got through this thing with zero positive COVID cases. We did this to create a safe bubble so our guys could play, and it worked."
Reach the reporter at aklatsky@asu.edu and follow @averyklatsky on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
