In two games against No. 18 Cornell (8-4-3) in the last two weeks, No. 11 Arizona State (16-5-5) erased a 2-0 deficit to force overtime on both occasions. But the third time was a charm for the Big Red on Saturday at Mullet Arena.
Cornell scored two goals in the first period and one 15 seconds into the second period to take a three-goal lead and defeated ASU 4-1 victory to sweep the series.
“They’re a hell of a team,” ASU coach Greg Powers said. “They’re very tough to play against. The goal tonight was to come out hard and get a lead for once on these guys and make them try and chase the game. And it just didn’t go that way.”
Saturday’s defeat marked the first time the Sun Devils have lost consecutive games this season. Cornell won game one 3-2 in OT on Friday.
Despite climbing back last night and in their 2-2 shootout victory over Cornell in the Adirondack Winter Invitational Final on Dec. 30, the Sun Devils looked flat and never threatened to make a comeback.
ASU struggled to generate quality scoring chances without three top-six forwards. Senior forwards Dylan Jackson and Ty Jackson have been out since November with injuries. Freshman forward Kyle Smollen was suspended for the game after being ejected the night before for an illegal hit to the head.
“We haven’t really had much going (offensively),” Powers said, “and with Smollen suspended because of the stupid penalty last night, we were missing some depth down the middle.”
The Sun Devils’ lone goal was scored by senior forward Matthew Kopperud. It was Kopperud’s 11th power-play goal of the season, the most in the country. Senior Tim Lovell and sophomore Charlie Schoen each had an assist.
For Cornell, sophomore forward Nick DeSantis, junior defenseman Hank Kempf, freshman defenseman Ben Robertson, and freshman Ryan Walsh scored. Senior forward Gabriel Seger had two assists and freshman defenseman Hoyt Stanley, junior forward Kyle Penney, and sophomore forward Dalton Bancroft each had an assist.
Cornell got on the board with 7:20 left in the first period. Stanley fired the puck on net from the right side of the blue line. Semptimphelter dropped to his butterfly above the crease to make the initial save, but DeSantis, camped out in front of the net, put home the rebound.
Kempf gave Cornell a 2-0 lead with 4:50 remaining in the first. Seger snuck a pass through the Sun Devils defense and Kempf’s one-timer beat Semptimphelter.
Despite trailing by two goals, the first period was ASU’s best. The Sun Devils outshot Cornell 12-11, played aggressively, and spent more time in the offensive zone, controlling the majority of the puck possession.
“With how we started today in the first 12 minutes, we felt really good,” Powers said. “We looked good. We were executing how we needed to play. The energy was good on the bench. It was a great crowd tonight. It sucks we couldn’t have performed better in front of them.”
Cornell found the back of the net 14 seconds into the second period to take a 3-0 lead. The Big Red won the opening faceoff and set up in the offensive zone. From the left side of the blue line, Robertson walked the puck in and without any pressure or obstruction, fired it past Semptimphelter.
“TJ (Semptimphelter) let in a stinker there,” Powers said. “And he’s been so good for us. He was due to probably have an off night.”
Powers had seen enough and replaced Semptimphelter with sophomore goalie Gibson Homer. Before being pulled, Semtimphelter made 10 saves on 13 shots. Homer stopped all 22 shots he faced and gave ASU a chance.
The goaltender change failed to light a spark. The Sun Devils only managed six shots on goal in the middle frame, while Cornell had 15 shots, despite having three power plays in the period.
ASU entered the weekend with the most power-play goals in the nation (27) but struggled tonight (1-for-6).
“If the power play was really clicking,” Powers said, “it’s a game that they could have come back from and probably tilted for us.”
Halfway through the third period, ASU found the back of the net with a two-man advantage to make it 3-1. Lovell dished the puck from above the right circle to Kopperud, who fired a one-timer from below the faceoff dot past junior goalie Ian Shane.
After the goal, the Sun Devils never had a single shot on net in the final 10 minutes. ASU only mustered two shots in the third period. Shane only needed 19 saves to earn the win.
Cornell had 11 shots in the period, including Walsh’s empty net goal that made it 4-1 with just under three minutes left.
The game was ASU’s final opportunity to earn a win against a ranked opponent this season and strengthen their position in the PairWise rankings, which determines the 16 participants in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Powers said, “They’re always worried about it (PairWise) as an independent. It’s the life we live. But I’m proud of my guys. Through 26 games they’ve put on a really good show here and they’re resilient. An overtime loss and a loss to a really good team isn’t going to change that.”
The Sun Devils are currently No. 16 in the PairWise, so they are not afforded much room for error over their final 12 games.
ASU will host Augustana for a two-game series starting on Friday at Mullet Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST.
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