Dreams became reality for ASU hockey Friday evening, as they christened the new Mullett Arena on its inaugural night with a 2-0 victory over Colgate.
"Nights like tonight were something that I think every player that has played here since 1979 would joke about," said coach Greg Powers following the opening night win. "'What if we got an on campus arena,' 'what if all this happened — how good we could be and how great we could become, and now it's here and that's what we intend on this program being."
Friday night's atmosphere at Mullett showed a passion for Sun Devil sports that the students in Tempe have been yearning for.
"It's a close comparison," said ASU's sophomore goaltender TJ Semptimphelter on how Friday's atmosphere compares to playing in the Beanpot. "It's good to be playing in front of a crowd like that, it just goes to show you hockey deserves to be in the desert."
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Sun Devil captain and sophomore forward Josh Doan gave the sold out student section something to go crazy for at the end of the first period, hammering home his own rebound for the first men's hockey goal in Mullett Arena history.
"I couldn't have made it harder on myself to put it in," Doan said. "Great pass from Silly (Lukas Sillinger) and it was a pretty special moment, you get an opportunity to score the first in this rink, it's pretty special, and that goes up to a lot of guys that played in this program before me."
The third line played outstanding Friday evening, with junior forward Ryan O'Reilly netting ASU's second and final goal in the second period. O'Reilly and fellow linemate and freshman forward Charlie Schoen really shined Friday night, headlining the line Powers had the highest praise for.
"They've been our best line," Powers said. "Through five games they've been our best line, our most consistent line, they play downhill. They're just playing the right way."
Semptimphelter was a rock for the Sun Devils between the pipes Friday night, posting a 30 save shutout, his second shutout of the season and the first ever in Mullett Arena.
The Sun Devils and Colgate will get together for another evening of hockey in the desert Saturday night at Mullett Arena, puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
Edited by Piper Hansen.
Reach the reporter at jeigo@asu.edu and follow @JosephEigo on Twitter.
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