Arizona State men’s hockey shines in Adirondack Winter Invitational

Arizona State men’s hockey was invited to compete in this year’s Adirondack Winter Invitational in Lake Placid, NY.

For many players and fans, it was a chance to relive history inside one of the most famous arenas in the United States and also the world. This event took place inside the famed Lake Placid Events Center, home of the Miracle on Ice.

Many players and staff, not just on ASU, sounded off on how excited they were to play in such a famous venue.

Adirondack Winter Invitational overview

The tournament had four teams that played two games each across Friday and Saturday. The teams that competed were ASU, Clarkson, Cornell, and UMass.

Out of the four teams, three are ranked within the top 20. The only team not ranked at the time was Clarkson.

Arizona State’s tournament road

The first matchup slated for the Sun Devils had them up against Clarkson on Friday night. Last year the Sun Devils made the cross-country trip to Potsdam, New York to play the Knights.

Despite having the injury bug at that point in the season the Devils were able to scratch out a split in the two-game series.

ASU V Clarkson

The Sun Devils started off the game playing very slowly and trying to figure out their plan of attack as the game progressed. The first ten minutes of the game were dominated by Clarkson with ASU goalie TJ Semptemphelter having to make several big stops to keep the puck out of the net early.

There was only so much Semptemphelter could do early on, he wound up giving up the opening goal of the game 8:55 into the first period. After the Clarkson goal, ASU started to find their own game after a critical penalty kill.

The Sun Devils headed into the locker room down 1-0 but had plenty of time to find an answer.

During the beginning of the second period, ASU had several chances to tie the game but made a critical mistake that would cost them. After Clarkson killed off a penalty they made a man come out of the box in perfect time to get an odd-man rush that would eventually lead to a goal.

ASU was down 2-0 early in the second. Things were looking gloomy for the Sun Devils, but not for long.

The Sun Devils strike back

Just three minutes later ASU responded with a goal of their courtesy of Jackson Niedermayer. Niedermayer put one in the back of the net off of a great pass from Charlie Schoen.

The rest of the period would move quickly and ASU would head into the locker room down yet again.

The third period was one of, if not the best, periods that Arizona State hockey has played in quite some time.

Down 2-1, ASU came out and scored just 46 seconds into the period to tie the game at two a piece. From then on in, it was a goal fest for ASU.

After Schoen scored early, ASU netted three more goals in the period to put a fork in the game.

Outside of Schoen, Smolen scored two goals including an empty netter and Gratton put one in the back of the net.

It was a full-fledged attack from ASU in the third period which led them to a 5-2 win over the Knights and a trip to the championship game.

Championship Game against Cornell

If you did not tune into the championship game you missed out. For people who appreciate good defense like myself, it was a great game.

The game started just like the first game with ASU giving up a first-period goal and having to play from behind. For most of the period this game both teams played extremely tight and did not give up many easy chances. It took Cornell 15 minutes to score the first goal but they led into the locker room after 20 minutes.

To start the second was once again like looking into a mirror for the Sun Devils. They gave up another quick goal to give Cornell a 2-0 lead, but once again not for long.

Just 17 seconds later this time, Niedermayer scored the Devils’ first goal yet again. After the Niedermayer goal, the pace slowed down exponentially.

Big hits, great saves, and turnovers were the themes for the remaining minutes of the second period. ASU wound up going into the locker room down 2-1 after 40 minutes for the second straight night. As they did the night prior, they did not give up and gave it all they had.

The Sun Devils look to mount a second straight comeback

43 seconds into the final frame, Matthew Kopperud netted his NCAA best 10th-best power-play goal of the season to tie the game at two.

Kopperud has become one of, if not, the best power play scorer in ASU history and the NCAA this season.

The final 18 minutes of the game had everyone on the edge of their seats knowing that the next goal could be the winner. However, they would leave regulation disappointed. The final horn sounded after 18 minutes of tense hockey and the game was still tied.

The game would head to arguably the most exciting overtime in sports, three-on-three hockey for five minutes.

The OT period did not disappoint whatsoever.

Both teams had amazing chances but both goalies put on a show making save after save. The fans in attendance marveled at the great play of both goalies and gave them big rounds of applause during stoppages of play.

After the five minutes somehow nobody had scored and the game was headed for a shootout.

The first two frames of the shootout went without anyone scoring despite great looks.

The final regulated frame had ASU’s Kyle Smolen and Cornell’s Winter Wallace. Smolen skated up and deeked the goalie several times burying it into the back of the net. All ASU needed was a Semptimphelter save and they would win.

The ASU goalie did just that and Arizona State would wind up winning the game and the trophy as well.

Final thoughts on the Adirondack Winter Invitational

This weekend went about as well as it could for ASU minus one thing. The only thing that could have made it perfect would have been a win in regulation against Cornell to boost their Pairwise rank but nonetheless, they walked away with the trophy.

ASU beat Clarkson on night one and then Clarkson went and beat UMasson on night two giving the win against Clarkson much more significance.

Overall, the weekend for ASU went about as well as it could and they are now looking at possibly being inside the top 10 starting this weekend.

Looking forward for Arizona State men’s hockey

Next up ASU hosts the Desert Hockey Classic on Friday and Saturday. ASU will play Harvard on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM  but that matchup is TBD.

All games are at Mullett Arena.

Other teams include Harvard, UMass Lowell, and Omaha.

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