The No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils won 5-2 over the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, securing the 29th edition of the Ice Breaker Tournament.
The smiles were all around, from the players to the coaches; their hard work paid off. Sophomore forward Ty Nash extended the Sun Devils’ lead to 2-0 after junior forward Kyle Smolen skated toward the slot and fed him a perfect pass, which Nash buried in the back of the net. The goal marked Nash’s first of both his Arizona State and collegiate career, giving the Sun Devils the breather they needed.
“For a young person to bounce back and win a trophy and score 10 goals, and do a lot of good things, it is promising,” Arizona State coach Greg Powers said.
Senior forward Cruz Lucius recorded a hat trick, scoring all three goals in the third period, including an empty-netter from way behind the blue line.
“God, that happened really fast,” Lucius said. “You know, the way my line was playing … Obviously, it is good to see them go in. But you know, having these chances, that is what matters most.”
The power plays for both benches were rolling. Only one of the game’s seven goals came at even strength.
The Sun Devils were 2-18 on the power play heading into this game. However, their fortunes turned around quickly, going 5-9 on Saturday night. The Nanooks capitalized on their limited chances, too, going 1-3 on the man advantage after entering this matchup 2-14.
The Sun Devils scored their first goal of the night on the power play, thanks to sophomore forward Logan Morrell slotting a wrist shot home from the right-wing faceoff circle after Court passed it over from the blue line.
“Some puck luck, I think more than anything,” Powers said. “But you know Cruz hit a couple shots, you know (he) picked his spot … But I am relieved that the power play stepped up like it did. But we still got a lot of work to do on it.”
“All that matters is when you are getting opportunities and then looking at what you need to improve on,” Lucius said of the team’s man-advantage play. “And that is what we did this week.”
The Sun Devils got production from both sides of the coin. The youngsters, such as Morrell, Court and freshman defenseman Justin Kipkie, all contributed with at least two points. Both Morrell and Court were credited with points on ASU’s first two goals.
“If you want to be a top team in the country, your whole team needs to step up and be able to do that,” Lucius said. “I think Morrell’s line, especially them, have been huge for us. They have been really hard and have been setting the pace for our team and that is huge.”
On the flip side, the Sun Devils got more production with guys like Lucius, Smolen and senior forward Bennett Schimek all providing key contributions. With Smolen, it was not just the assists, but it was also his physical presence. Schimek tacked on two assists to his team-best four helpers on the season.
“Yeah, it is what you need,” Powers said. “You need your vets to step up and lead the group … They did a good job of it.”
Senior goaltender Connor Hasley had his best game in the Maroon and Gold. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound netminder talked about the fan atmosphere and praised the fans who come week in and week out. He was excited to play at Mullett Arena when he joined, and now he is reaping the rewards.
The Bentley transfer had a season high in save percentage, accumulating 34 saves en route to his first win. A very calm but excited Hasley was eager to get his first win with Arizona State.
“I mean I am ecstatic,” Hasley said. “I am so happy to get that first one on my belt and I think, with the group we have, we have got a lot more in us. I cannot wait to keep it going.”
ASU retains its top 15 ranking heading into a two-game road series at Augustana, with puck drop for Game 1 on Friday at 5:07 p.m. MST.
“The more trophies you can stack up and win, the more winning becomes customary and losing becomes unacceptable,” Powers said. “Before you know it, maybe you find yourself in Las Vegas at the end of the year.”
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