On Nov. 11, 2023, the Arizona State men’s hockey team topped the No. 2 University of Denver 6-5 in overtime at Mullett Arena.
Nearly a year later, the Sun Devils (5-7-1) once again knocked off one of college hockey’s powerhouse programs. This time, handing the Denver Pioneers (12-1-0) their first loss of the season with ASU grinding out a 3-2 upset road victory.
ASU senior goalie Luke Pavicich guided the Sun Devils to victory, stopping 30 shots in the team’s second National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) victory. Denver, the reigning national champions, had swept three series against ranked teams before entering their two-game home series against Arizona State.
After potting two of the Sun Devils’ three goals in their first NCHC win over Omaha last game, the forward line of junior Ryan Alexander, graduate student Artem Shlaine and sophomore Kyle Smolen stayed together in the first game against the Pioneers.
Shlaine scored the first goal from a net-mouth scramble 35 seconds into the first period, putting ASU up 1-0. His linemates received assists on the opening tally. However, the Northern Michigan transfer was not finished.
With 45 ticks to play in regulation, Shlaine shelved a shot from the high slot past Denver senior goalie Matt Davis’ glove side. Arizona State fended off the Pioneers for the remainder of regulation, handing Denver its first loss since March 8, 2024.
Pioneers senior forward Carter King matched Shlaine’s performance with two goals in the contest.
He leveled the score at 1-1 in the first period on the power play with a shot from the point that made its way through a three-skater screen. At the 4:01 mark of the third period, a rebound kicked off of Denver senior forward Jack Devine’s left skate and found King all-alone on the back post for a tap-in marker. The Pioneers had tied the scoreboard again at 2-2.
ASU’s second goal of the contest came 7:20 into the second period. Freshman forward Cullen Potter threaded the needle on a cross-ice pace to junior forward Bennett Schimek. The Providence College transfer beat Davis along the ice through his five-hole, reclaiming Arizona State’s lead 2-1.
Despite being outshot 30-27 and going scoreless on three power plays, The Sun Devils blocked 11 shots and killed two penalties against the highest-scoring offense in the nation.
The win marked a historic feat for Arizona State coach Greg Powers. He reached the 300 career-win total as the Sun Devils head coach (including ACHA and NCAA wins).
“It’s a big, big, big win for our program,” Powers said. “We’ve played them to the wire a few times here — we’ve seen to find a way to not get over the hump here, and tonight we did.”
After ending Denver’s 21-game winning streak dating back to last season, ASU will look to do the unthinkable and sweep the two-game tilt against Pioneers on the road. The puck drop for game two is at 6 p.m. MST on Nov. 22, 2024, at Magness Arena in Colorado.
“It’s a benchmark win, and tomorrow, we need to work to get a benchmark sweep,” Powers said ahead of the second game of the series.
Leave a Reply