The No.16 Arizona State Sun Devils (6-1-1) were just under 12 minutes away from suffering what would have been a crushing loss to the Stonehill College Skyhawks (0-9-0) despite carrying the play for a majority of the game, but graduate Captain Tyler Gratton and senior winger Matthew Kopperud had other ideas propelling ASU to a 3-2 win Saturday night.
The Sun Devils came to play, outshooting the Skyhawks 46-25. They managed the puck well, were hard on the forecheck and most importantly won more puck battles than they lost.
The score doesn’t tell the tale of the game. Stonehill sophomore goaltender Dylan Meilun stopped 43 shots and had a .935 save percentage, which kept the Sun Devils from widening the gap on the scoreboard.
“We completely controlled the play of the game, the pace of the game, and probably doubled o-zone time,” ASU head coach Greg Powers said. “(Stonehill was) really opportunistic.”
Fifteen seconds into the game, Gratton took a cross-checking penalty, but killing off that penalty wasn’t a problem for the Sun Devils. 12 seconds into Gratton’s minor penalty, freshman center Cole Gordon picked up a mishandled puck at the blue line and went in all alone on a breakaway before showcasing a nifty backhand to give ASU a 1-0 lead as well as the teams first shorthanded goal of the season.
“It felt awesome, especially when my mom, sister, and aunt were here,” Gordon said. “It was a really good one to get off my chest,” said Gordon.
The Sun Devils took it to the Skyhawks throughout the first period. They spent a substantial amount of time in the offensive zone, cycling the puck down low and getting pucks on net. ASU had 22 shots after the first period.
There was a sense of aggressiveness Arizona State showed throughout the game not seen often so far this season. The Devils finished their checks and hit everything in sight, sometimes a bit too hard as Gordon took a five-minute major for a hit from behind just a few minutes after ASU killed off the first Stonehill powerplay.
The Sun Devil penalty kill struck again, killing off the five-minute major. ASU ended up taking two more penalties throughout the game, going 3/4 on the penalty kill.
“It was really good in the first, obviously it got us a goal and we won the special teams battle tonight,” Powers said.
It was one of the best periods the Sun Devils have played this season. Everything you would want to see both offensively and defensively they showed in the first period.
Stonehill came out with energy to start the second period. Just over four minutes in, junior winger Henri Shreifels ripped a shot low blocker side past ASU sophomore goaltender Gibson Homer, who appeared to lose his positioning, to tie the game up at one.
That was the only questionable play from Homer all game, as he finished off the night with 23 saves as well as recording his second win in the NCAA in his third consecutive start.
“Gibby was good […] that’s a tough game when you’re not seeing a lot of action,” Powers said. “He did a good job and he found a way to get us a sweep.”
It was the most even period of the three, Stonehill tightened up defensively limiting ASU’s pressure in their zone as well as their high-danger chances.
ASU came out flying in the third period, with the first two minutes of the period spent entirely in the Stonehill end. The momentum ran short as senior winger Alex Young was sent to the box for hooking.
Stonehill converted on the power play. Freshman defenseman Charles Banquier put home the rebound off a well-placed shot from freshman winger Conor Ronayne to give the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead.
The Sun Devils did not receive a power play until just over seven minutes into the third period, and it didn’t take long to do some damage.
Fifteen seconds into the power play, Gratton slid one home off a nice dish from Kopperud to even things up at two a piece.
The hard work ASU showcased all night started to pay off as they took a 3-2 lead just over two minutes after tying the game up.
It was none other than Kopperud and Gratton once again carrying the Sun Devils’ offense, except this time the roles were reversed. Kopperud had ample time in the slot to pick his spot finishing one off a beautiful feed from Gratton.
Kopperud collected his fifth goal and eighth point of the season as well as surpassing Tyler Busch for the third-most points all-time in franchise history.
“I was out pretty much all last year so I had to do everything I could to make sure I was back this year to try to help the team,” said Kopperud.
It was complete domination from ASU to finish this one out as they only gave up seven shots in the third period.
Two hard-fought gritty games the Sun Devils played this weekend against a winless Stonehill club, and even though it wasn’t a walk in the park the Sun Devils were able to dig deep and pick up two more wins at home.
“We are a tight-knit group, both those games shouldn’t have been that close but they were,” said Kopperud. “We came together within the group and found a way to pull out two wins.”
The Sun Devils will face their biggest test yet as they play host to the No.2 Denver Pioneers on November 10th and 11th.
“We are excited, they are the blue blood,” said Powers. “They are gonna come in here ready to go and they know that we are 6-0 at home.”
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