No. 12 ASU versus No. 3 Western Michigan was perhaps the biggest weekend in Sun Devil hockey history.
The Sun Devils went into the second game after beating the Broncos 5-3 on Friday. It was also senior night at Mullett Arena in front of a sold-out student section with Saturday being the 47th consecutive student section sell-out.
The Sun Devil seniors had their last regular season game at Mullett Arena. It is safe to say the pressure was on for the team.
Head coach Greg Powers started a line full of seniors right off the bat with senior goaltender Luke Pavicich in net following his dominant win on Friday.
The Sun Devils showed up early with a goal from sophomore forward Kyle Smolen to jump ahead of the Broncos. Things were looking up for ASU as the team was dominant early with physical play.
In the first, the Sun Devils went on the power play after a tripping call but couldn't register a single shot in the two-minute man advantage.
The Broncos would score in the second period after an unlucky bounce off Pavicich's glove put the puck directly on an open player's stick and into the back of the net.
Senior forward Ryan Kirwan and freshman forward Cullen Potter were noticeable early on, playing physically and creating turnovers at both blue lines. Smolen took note of Potter's dominance during the weekend series.
"He created a ton of turnovers this weekend," Smolen said. "He was a force to be reckoned with. He seriously was."
Although Western Michigan put the pressure on, Pavicich stood firm to keep the Sun Devils alive saving shot after shot. Potter took some pressure off of Pavicich by scoring an impressive goal, giving the Sun Devils their second lead of the night.
The Broncos scored early in the third, but Potter responded shortly thereafter with his second goal of the night to give ASU another lead. However, the Broncos score a game-tying goal thanks in part to small Sun Devil mistakes.
Going into overtime, Pavicich looked strong but Western Michigan looked stronger. Powers said that Western Michigan goalie Hampton Slukynsky was tough to beat during the series.
"The kid made a hell of a save," Powers said in response to a Slukynsky save in overtime. "He's as good of a goalie as we've seen all year, if not the best goalie we've seen all year."
The Broncos scored a game-winning breakaway goal after two Sun Devils were caught low in the offensive zone. ASU now sits at second in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings five points behind Western Michigan.
The Sun Devils will hit the road to face Omaha, the third-best team in the NCHC, in their final regular season games on Feb. 28 and March 1. Before then, Potter is looking at this series as a successful one despite Saturday's setback.
"Obviously you want to succeed," Potter said. "Positive mindset, you know, I'm getting the chances so they'll go in at some point."
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at Gbarberi@asu.edu and follow @Giobarberio1 on X.
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Giovanni is a sophomore studying history. This is his third semester with The State Press.
