TEMPE – Arizona State hockey (12-13-1, 5-8-1 NCHC) held a 3-1 lead over No. 4 North Dakota (20-6, 12-4 NCHC) with 22 seconds left in the second period on Saturday night. The next 20 minutes and 22 seconds, the Fighting Hawks hounded the Sun Devils, handing them a 5-3 loss.
“We talk about them all the time. The last two minutes of the period, the first two minutes of the period. We talk about just how important those minutes are,” ASU senior forward Bennett Schimek said. “You don’t necessarily have to score, but you just can’t give one up. And we did in both those scenarios. It was our line, and it’s unacceptable.”
Fighting Hawk sophomore defenseman Andrew Strathmann labeled a wrist shot over freshman goaltender Samuel Urban’s high blocker with 22 seconds left in the second period. North Dakota trailed by one goal heading into the last period. Then, 42 seconds into the third frame, UND freshman forward Will Zellers benefitted off a turnover in the Sun Devils’ defensive zone, beating freshman goaltender Samuel Urban up high.
“I think Dowder [Dowd] fell, and it was really one minute to change the game between the end of the second and the start of the third,” Arizona State coach Greg Powers said. “That gave all the momentum that they needed.”
Despite the collapse, Urban held the Maroon and Gold in the game, making 40 saves while his team took seven penalties. Powers mentioned that the undisciplined play left his team out of gas.
“He was really good, especially in the first two periods,” Powers said. “I want to see our goalies lock it down a little bit more in the third both nights, but look, none of those goals were his fault.”
Urban now holds his two highest single-game save totals against the Fighting Hawks, including a 38-save performance against North Dakota on Nov. 14, 2025.
The penalties, another third-period collapse on home ice, and the absence of sophomore forward Cullen Potter were enough for Powers: He received a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and left the bench in the late stages of regulation.
“We’re starting to get some production from the back, which is huge, and we’re going to need it with the guys we have out up front,” Powers said of sophomore defenseman Brasen Boser’s first goal of the season. “And you could feel Potsy’s [Potter] absence today. Just the speed that we’re missing, the ability to drive plays, and that’s usually 22 to 24 minutes that we’re reliant on with that kind of dynamic player.”
The Fighting Hawks were led by senior forward Dylan James and freshman defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, who both recorded three-point nights. For the Sun Devils, Boser, freshman forward Sam Alfano and sophomore forward Logan Morrell found the back of the net.
Following two in-conference regulation losses, Arizona State falls to fifth place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Sparky will look to get back in the win column on the road, taking on the NCHC’s last-place Colorado College Tigers on Jan. 30 and 31.
In the meantime, Powers credited Mullett Arena’s environment for this series.
“The crowd was incredible. Students were incredible. We gave them two really exciting periods, both nights. In the third, both nights got away from us. It felt a lot like Penn State, and it’s really just unfortunate. You could say those are the four biggest home games of the year. We didn’t get a win in any of them to date, and we had the lead in three of the four going into the third. If you would have told me at the start of the year, I would have never believed it.”
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