This story was originally published on November 12, 2022.
The Arizona State Sun Devils took on Alaska Anchorage Seawolves at Mullet Arena for the first of a two-game set on Veterans Day. The Sun Devils broke out their military uniforms to pay tribute to the great Pat Tillman and did the job well with a 5-2 victory and improved to 6-4 on the season.
Puck dropped for the first period and the Sun Devils took control of the game early and got a early power play chance after Alaska Anchorage graduate defenseman Derek Hamelin got a two minute tripping penalty.
The Sun Devils got some chances on the power play, but couldn’t get the puck in the net. After the power play, the Sun Devils couldn’t get anything going and the Seawolves got some opportunities. They too, though, couldn’t get anything in the back of the net.
Over halfway through the first period, the Sun Devils striked first with a goal from junior forward Ty Jackson and assisted by freshman defenseman Blake Dangos. Jackson’s goal was his first of the year. 48 seconds later, sophomore forward Jack Jensen extended the Sun Devil lead to two goals.
The Sun Devils had another power play chance in the late first period, but couldn’t tack on another goal. The Sun Devils went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead over Alaska Anchorage.
Heading into the second period with a 2-0 lead, the Devils started out slow. Jensen picked up a two minute penalty that gave Alaska Anchorage its first power play of the night. The Seawolves were unsuccessful on their power play, though, and the score remained 2-0.
The Sun Devils picked up their third power play chance of the night after a five minute boarding penalty. ASU once again struggled on the power play and moved to 0-for-3 on the night on power plays. Six minutes later, the Seawolves cut the lead in half with a goal from graduate forward Jamie Collins to make it 2-1 with 8:42 left in the second period.
After the Seawolves made it 2-1, the Devils turned it around scoring two goals in the span of under a minute. Goals from junior forward Dylan Jackson and sophomore forward Josh Doan made it 4-1.
With 2:40 left in the period, ASU sophomore defenseman Ty Murchison picked up a two minute slashing penalty. 35 seconds into the Seawolves powerplay, ASU senior defenseman Jack Judson scored a short handed goal to make it 5-1. The Sun Devils shut down the Seawolves powerplay to make the Seawolves 0-for-2 on power plays after two periods. The Devils headed into the break up 5-1 and a 29-18 shots on goal advantage.
In the third period, the Seawolves struck into the Devils lead with a goal from freshman defenseman Brett Bamber to make ASU’s lead 5-2. There was no other scoring from either team after the Bamber goal.
The Sun Devils had 5 goals that came from five different players. Coach Greg Powers had this to say about his squad: “We are deep. We said that from day one. It was only a matter of time that the Jacksons get going. I thought they were our best players tonight.”
The Sun Devils’ depth is huge for the team to make a run to the NCAA tournament.
ASU junior forward Matthew Kopperud said goalie TJ Semptimphelter was huge in the team’s win.
“Well we don’t need defense with TJ, but he’s a superstar,” Kopperud said.
Good goaltending is huge in college hockey and if Semptimphelter stays hot the Sun Devils can continue to rack up wins.
The Devils and the Seawolves will meet again on Saturday at 5 p.m. MST.
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