ASU hockey fumbles lead, splits series with Providence

TEMPE, Ariz. — Despite taking the first game on Friday night, the No. 13 Arizona State Sun Devils fell 2-1 to the No. 9 Providence Friars at Mullett Arena on Sunday afternoon. 

With the loss, Arizona State goes 6-2 in their eight-game home stand. This included sweeps against the Stonehill Skyhawks and the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves along with a split against then No. 2 Denver Pioneers.

“They’re good,” Sun Devils head coach Greg Powers said about Providence. “We gave them two goals. You have to manage games against teams that good. We had a lead and we started to play downhill.”

ASU hockey loses to Providence

After both teams combined for seven shots in the first 6:35, the Sun Devils went about nine minutes without a shot. Senior forward Dylan Jackson ended the drought with a backhand from the boards with 4:15 left.

Then, fighting ensued as the first period came to a close. Arizona State’s junior defenseman Ty Murchison and Providence’s forward sophomore Jaroslav Chmelar went to the penalty box for roughing. Thus, the second period started with a 4-on-4.

14 seconds into the period, graduate forward Brian Chambers thought he gave the Sun Devils the lead. But it was disallowed for offsides.

The Friars had their first power play opportunity of the game 17:18 into the period, as junior forward Ryan Alexander was called for tripping. Nonetheless, the Sun Devils did not allow a Providence shot, let alone a goal.

5:17 into the second period, Arizona State had their first power play after graduate forward Jamie Engelbert was penalized for roughing.

So, the fourth-best power play unit in the nation capitalized on the opportunity. Dylan Jackson trickled the puck past sophomore goaltender Philip Svedeback from a few feet out to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead with 13:37 left in the second period. He was assisted by two seniors, forward Matthew Kopperud and defenseman Tim Lovell.

Providence received a power play two minutes and 28 seconds after the goal. Junior Cade Alami headed to the box for interference. But the Sun Devils returned to full strength and maintained their lead.

However, the Friars equalized with 5:31 left in the period. Engelbert scored the goal unassisted from 10-15 feet out with the left forehand.

They completed the comeback three minutes and 25 seconds later. Mere moments after a break, junior forward Riley Duran took advantage of space on the left wing. He roofed the shot into the net from short range to quiet the Mullett crowd. Freshman forward Graham Gamache and junior defenseman Taige Harding assisted the goal.

Sun Devils fall short

“There are some things that we definitely need to tighten up,” graduate forward and captain Tyler Gratton said. “It’s like little details too. It’s just controlling the puck, managing the game a little bit better. I mean the three games we lost, we had the lead in all of them.”

The Sun Devils thought they had a five-minute power play with 1:11 into the third period, as Dylan Jackson landed on the ground after a collision. But the referees upheld their no-call after Powers challenged it. However, the crowd, and Powers, disliked the ruling.

“It was interesting,” Powers said. “I would love to see what they saw in the video review. [But] I knew the video review was working because 5,000 people saw it.”

With time dwindling and their net empty, Arizona State had a chance to equalize on the power play after senior defenseman Chase Yoder’s tripping call with 1:30 left. Unfortunately, Powers’ side could not take advantage of the 6-on-4.

The Sun Devils (10-3-1) will have their second road trip of the season next weekend. They will take on the Colorado College Tigers (7-5-0) this Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m.

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