This story was originally published on January 13, 2023.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (11-13) fell short of a victory at home against the No. 17 Minnesota State Mavericks (12-9-1). However, despite the frustrating loss, sophomore goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter had 34 saves between the pipes and still holds the spot for the most saves in the NCAA with 759 saves this season.
The game was not only a product of Semptimphelter’s work, though. The Sun Devils were 6-of-6 on the penalty kill until an empty netter later in the third by senior forward Ryan Sandelin, which extended MSU’s lead to 3-1.
“The penalty kill was great,” said graduate forward Chris Grando. “But, I don’t think we should have been in that position eight times tonight. It was almost a full period of killing.”
Grando was the first to put points on the board for either team with his short-handed goal with 8.5 seconds left to go in the period. Junior forward Benji Eckerle had the initial breakaway. His shot was rebounded by Grando and then sent the puck to the back of the net.
“I gotta give credit to my linemate, Benji,” Grando said. “He broke up the play, and then I saw the opportunity to jump into the play, and he put it off the goalie’s pads perfectly and right into my tape.”
Semptimphelter continued to be the team’s workhorse and made highlight saves one after another. He often found himself sprawled out on the ice like a starfish to cover up the puck. But on the offensive side of the game, ASU coach Greg Powers hoped for more, especially from those on the first line.
“They have to execute,” Powers said. “When you are struggling to score, you need more out of your top guys.”
The forwards in the first line were sophomore Josh Doan, sophomore Robert Mastrosimone, and junior Lukas Sillinger. Combined, they had eight shots-on-goal out of the overall 31. Along with the shots on goal, Doan struggled in faceoffs, only winning four out of the 15 faceoffs he had.
“You know they’re great players. We believe in them,” Powers said. “But we need more out of them.”
In the final two minutes of the third period, senior defenseman Jacob Semik gets thrown into the penalty box for tripping. Semik’s penalty forced the Devils to pull Semptimphelter to have 5-on-5 play (excluding the goalie). Shortly after pulling Semptimphelter, the Devils turned the puck over, and the Mavericks found themselves in the offensive zone to seal the game with an empty netter.
“It’s another one-goal empty net loss,” reflected Coach Powers, “We’ve had a lot of them this year. But you know, we’re averaging now under two goals a game in the last five since we got back from break. You’re not going to win many games.”
On the positive side of the game, besides Semptimphelter, was Eckerle. He got his third assist of the season late in the first that gave the Devils the initial lead, and he went 7-1 in faceoffs for the night.
“He was our only guy that really competed hard on faceoffs,” Powers said, “He was one of our bright spots for sure.”
The Sun Devils will faceoff against the Mavericks once more on Saturday at 7:00 pm MST.
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